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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nDaily Reading: <\/strong>2 Kings 16 GW<\/a>; Mark 14 GW<\/a>; Psalms 88 GW<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n God wastes nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our heroine today is Mary, sister of Lazarus (John 12:3 NIV<\/a>). The perfume she pours on Jesus\u2019 feet is Nard, made from a plant in the Himalayas. Expensive, the costly liquid was equivalent to a year\u2019s wages. Jesus was visiting Simon in his home with several others when Mary found him. Watching, the witnesses think Mary\u2019s act is wasteful. What the onlookers didn\u2019t realize, Mary\u2019s actions prepared Jesus for His burial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Days before Passover, Simon and his friends didn\u2019t know what was coming. None of them could understand Jesus\u2019s death and resurrection yet. From their earthly position, what Mary did was wasteful. But in reality, God was powerfully using Mary. Simon and the boys didn\u2019t have the capability of understanding this fact. Mary\u2019s act prepared Jesus for burial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only God knows.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like the men didn\u2019t understand Mary\u2019s act, we do the same. Someone does something for Jesus in a way that doesn\u2019t make sense to us, and we question the action. But God understands and uses it for His good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.\u201d (<\/em>Romans 8:28 NIV<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter what the situation, God doesn\u2019t waste it. When we\u2019re actively serving the Lord, fulfilling our mission to the best of our ability, God will work things out for good. Perfection isn\u2019t required to serve God, just willingness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary\u2019s willingness to give up a year\u2019s wages to anoint Jesus\u2019s feet shows her heart. Maybe she could have done things differently, but she did them her way. God knew her actions were pure. Human understanding isn\u2019t necessary for divine tasks. More times than not, people won\u2019t get why you do the things you do for Jesus. But in time, the truth comes out. After Jesus\u2019s death and resurrection, Simon understood Mary\u2019s actions, but only in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People serve God in different ways.\u00a0 If someone\u2019s actions baffle you, give it time.\u00a0 God reveals all things at the right moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n .<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Lord, thank You for Mary\u2019s example. Forgive us when we\u2019re unwilling to serve you completely. As we move through our day, give us opportunities to honor You. Let us submit to You fully today, seeking Your will, not ours. IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n Question for reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When have someone\u2019s actions baffled you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2 minute read. Daily Reading: 2 Kings 16 GW; Mark 14 GW; Psalms 88 GW God wastes nothing. Our heroine today is Mary, sister of Lazarus (John 12:3 NIV). The perfume she pours on Jesus\u2019 feet is Nard, made from a plant in the Himalayas. Expensive, the costly liquid was equivalent to a year\u2019s wages. … Continue reading How God Uses Everything Will Make You Astonished<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4684"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4686,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4684\/revisions\/4686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover.jpg\")