The Nail

by Karen DeArmond-Gardner

But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the LORD have spoken!” Isaiah 22:25

This is one of those verses you read a hundred times and skim over until, at some point, it jumps off the page. I imagined the Nail being most anything good or bad that holds our life together. As I pondered the verse, my first thought was the nail represented bondage. However, by the end of the day, The Nail took on new meaning. The Nail became disappointment, not just a small disappointment like “they don’t have my size,” but the kind that rocks your world and causes you to question what you believe about God.

I believe without a doubt that God has a plan and destiny for each one of us. I also believe we are given the opportunity to choose whether or not we will fulfill our destiny. There are some who know what their destiny is – when you speak with them you can hear the passion in the intensity of their voice. You believe with them, you see God’s hand on their life. You see how others respect them. You watch as the fulfillment of their destiny draws closer and closer.

Then the day comes when your destiny becomes intertwined with his – the one who stood with you when you said, “I do”.

Did you know God’s timing is not the same as ours? Months went by, we waited. Finally, it was here, the day we were to discover his/our DESTINY. My stomach was in knots as I waited for him to return home. When he walked in the door, I looked in his face. I did not see joy and the words he spoke were not registering. “You’re kidding,” came out of my mouth without thinking, as though he would ever kid about something this important.

In a blink of an eye – poof, it was gone! The foundation of what we believed was now vapor. I know God brought us both to this moment and at the last second it seems He pulled the rug out from under us and said “kidding”. It seemed all just a cruel joke. The disappointment and devastation were complete.

Yet I know that I know that I know God is merciful, kind and loving. What I just experienced caused me to wonder – and then I heard His voice “Do you trust me?” What could I say but yes, because deep in my heart, I know I can.

Have you been there? You heard from God. You are certain of it. And you hang onto His words even when the “thing” doesn’t come to pass and the desire to understand what happened plagues you. You want to know WHY, even though you know God does not need to explain Himself. Just ask Job. The hurt is deep.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you …” What if what you thought was His plan really wasn’t His plan? And if it wasn’t His plan, why didn’t He speak up? “Hey this isn’t my plan for you, looks like it, feels like it but it’s not.” He allowed you to hang onto the plan even when He asked questions of you like “what if…?” or “could you…?” Never thinking, just maybe, it was a nudge from God, that maybe this wasn’t His plan after all.

He rocks our world, not out of meanness, but because our focus is off. He knows we sometimes make an idol out of our passion and plans. We mistakenly thought we were made for this, when in reality, His plans are so much larger than ours. “For my thoughts are higher than your thoughts”.

I don’t know about you but I have some good plans. There have been times in my life when I let God know that if He would just listen to all I have laid out, it would fix whatever problem I was having at the time. I know He just patted me on the head saying, “child, child” while shaking His head. The sad part is that I implemented some of those plans and ended up in a worse mess.

Months later, we still do not understand, however disappointment has turned to trust. The Nail which was so firm was pulled out and because our foundation was firm, it did not collapse. The Lord did speak. Instead of asking why, we now ask Him what He wants to say to us about The Nail – it is all about trust, trusting He has something so much bigger for us than even we could imagine.

So here you are, 50+ with The Nail pulled out. You have no idea what God’s plan is or even what He can do with the mess that occurred when The Nail came out…

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think!” Ephesians 3:20 NLT

Enough said.

 

 

Karen DeArmond-Gardner: I found myself in my early 50′s shattered, divorced and without a job – moving to a new state to begin over again. There were times I thought the “start would stop me.” I had no clue what my purpose was and quite frankly thought I had messed up so bad that even God couldn’t put my life back together again. Within the last 6 years I started a new career, enjoyed being single, became a grandmother, reconnected with my family and at 57 I married the most amazing man ever. Because God never does anything small, He asks me to step out of my box and begin writing. Only God….if He did this for me, He will do it for you. Join us on the journey to discover Your Purpose Now.