Nothing is Wasted in God's Hands

Isaiah 49:4 New Living Translation (NLT)

I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.  Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.”

There have been times that I have efforted for something, worked so hard toward a goal.  Perhaps I achieved the goal, but it didn't feel worth it, or I didn't get to use it.  For example, I remember talking to a friend once while I was in graduate school.  I said," 'What if'... I spend all these years in graduate school and never use my degree?  Maybe I will be a stay at home mom, or work at a bookstore...or 'what if' I can't find a job in my field.  I don't want to think I went to all this effort for 'nothing.'"  My friend looked at me and said, "Education and experiences are never wasted."

Years later, another friend said to me, "I feel like I've wasted so much of my life.  I grieve certain things that I wish had been different.  I feel like I'm in a good place now...but what a waste that time was.  I wish I was in this place back then..."  I heard myself saying, "Experiences are never wasted."

That's why I love to pray through Isaiah 49:4.  That's why I am touched by Jason Gray's song "Nothing is Wasted."