I’ll Make It Work

A few days ago, I was posting an update to our ministry website, and the process involved embedding a video.  This is something I’ve done a hundred times or more on this particular website platform, but for some reason, it was giving me grief.  I tried refreshing the page.  No joy.  I thought maybe a complete computer reboot would fix the issue, but it didn’t.  I even attempted the process on my laptop, but nothing I did seemed to help.

Finally, frustrated over all the time I had spent on a task that should have taken less than a minute, I employed a workaround and embedded the video directly by using up some of the limited storage space on my website.  Unfortunately, the satisfaction at my stroke of genius and resourcefulness only lasted about two seconds.  That’s how long it took me to remember that I didn’t actually want to embed the video on the website at all.

Without getting too technical, let me explain.  When I post something on the website, it automatically gets sent out as a newsletter to all our subscribers.  If a post includes a video, the video won’t show up, as the email software can’t handle such things.  So, the “trick” is to post a picture that looks like a video (i.e., it contains a play button) and link the actual video to the image.  This way, the picture shows up in the email, and when people click the play button, the video opens up in a separate window.

I have only recently discovered this secret, and evidently, my brain still hasn’t gotten used to thinking through the process.  So after a ton of wasted time, effort, and storage space, I deleted the video and set up a picture with a link.  In the end, I had the desired result, but boy, did I make a mess in the meantime.  Good grief!

Why do we do that?  Why do we force things to go a certain way instead of considering that maybe they’re not working out the way we want for a reason?  Could it be that the spilled coffee that caused us to leave the house late saved us from being involved in a car accident?  Perhaps the dream job that went to someone else would have caused us far more stress than we imagined had we gotten it.  Maybe that perfect house we bid on would have resulted in a money pit.

God works in mysterious ways, but no matter what He uses to accomplish His will, we can trust it’s always for our benefit.  He protects us from ourselves when we don’t even realize we need saving.  It’s not intended to be cruel; it’s an act of love.  He cares for His children, and He always wants what’s best for us.

The next time something doesn’t work the way we think it should, instead of fussing, complaining, or trying to make it work, we would do well to step back and ask God for direction.  He could be saving us from a disaster.  He might be trying to keep us from making a mistake we’ll be unable to recover from.  Or, He could simply be reminding us to work in His strength and not our own.  Whatever the case, if we seek Him, we’ll save ourselves a lot of time, effort, and frustration.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9