TURNED-AROUND
adj: to become changed for the better
“Yes. God is around; God turns life around. Turned-around Jacob skips rope, turned-around Israel sings laughter.” Psalms 14:7
There is so much joy when God turns things around.
When God turns things around, he makes them better. What’s extra fun is that sometimes God does this without us even asking him to.
Because this turning-around is what God loves to do, we get to experience the kind of joy that makes us skip a little bit, jump up and down, or burst into song, laughter, or applause.
I have a middle-school memory of God doing this for me.
As a young teenager, I was pretty good at coming up with elaborate schemes that were far from practical or convenient. But every once in a while, I would wear down my parents and get permission to try to make one of these ideas happen. The particular plan for this muggy summer evening was that my Young Life leaders–a married couple that I admired immensely–were coming over; and I was going to cook dinner for them. The rest of my family agreed to go out and let me have the whole house for a few hours to host this incredible meal of homemade hamburgers, chips, and chocolate cake. I was beyond excited.
Yet, I was a little bit uneasy too. I felt a restlessness inside that would not let my heart relax. I kept thinking of my two best friends, Sara and Holly, and how much they would want to be a part of this dinner plan. They loved our Young Life leaders like I did; but I had selfishly left them out of this on purpose, wanting all the attention for myself. I was pretty sure that God was nudging me to invite them, too, but I was struggling to obey him.
A few hours before the dinner was to begin, I couldn’t ignore his voice anymore. I called Sara and Holly, and they were both thrilled to come over and be part of my awesome plan.
And then my awesome plan fell apart.
My Young Life leader called shortly before they were to arrive. They were experiencing a family emergency, and they had to cancel.
I remember hanging up the phone and looking at my friends in the kitchen. The disappointment would have crushed me if I had been all by myself. Instead, the three of us had what I will always remember as one of the most fun evenings of my life. And after our messy and delicious dinner, when the heavy clouds gave way to an absolute downpour; we ran outside in our bare feet–dancing and laughing until we were completely soaked. When my family returned home, my friends and I were happy, full, and closer than ever.
I truly believe that God turned that whole evening around for me. I still smile when I think about how much he cared about a silly, selfish middle-school girl who was just learning to trust him.
He wanted me to begin to learn that he sees me, he loves me, he is patient with me, and he works all things together for good. Even, and especially, when things get turned around.
Invite Him In
Ask him to turn things around for you. He sees you, he loves you, he is endlessly patient with you, and he can bring good out of any situation. Even when things don’t turn out the way you might hope or expect, he can fill you with incomparable joy.