In his book The Grand Weaver, Ravi Zacharias explores whether or not our lives are just random and meaningless or individual strands of thread woven together by God with precise and remarkable care. The answer to this question determines how we live. Even Christians can easily drift into feeling that everything except birth and death happens through our own efforts and in our own time. However, if we see God as the Grand Weaver, we can embrace every event of our lives, trusting that each one occurs for a specific reason and purpose.

All of the threads of life, including the darker ones of sickness, sadness and disappointments are orchestrated by God’s loving Hand. Only God can weave the supernatural out of our ordinary lives and only He knows the grand pattern that He is weaving for us. In his book, Zacharias tells the story of the magnificent hand-woven saris made in India. The brilliant gold, silver, reds and blues are stunning when woven together. A father who sits on a platform and a son who sits two steps down from him make the saris. All the spools of thread surround the father, and as he begins to pull the threads together, he nods and the son responds by moving the shuttle from side to side. Everything is done with a simple nod from the father. It’s a long and tedious process to watch, but if you come back in two to three weeks, you can see a magnificent pattern emerging.

The daily monotony of living with a chronic illness and/or pain can make life seem meaningless and unbearable. It often seems like God is not even there or is turning a deaf ear to our pleas for healing and relief. The next time you are tempted to think God no longer cares, remember the image of the weaver and God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11. Every thread of our lives has a purpose in God’s great design.