Devotionals

Sticking To It

by Anne Adams
12/22/20
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

Sticking To It

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Gen. 50:20 (NIV)

We’re all familiar with Post-it Notes – the slips of paper backed with partial adhesive –  but did you know it developed through a because of a series of events?  And sometimes God works that way.

In the early 1960s as scientists for 3M Company, makers of Scotch Tape, researched new adhesives one of them, Spencer Silver, discovered a substance that was only partially sticky. But since adhesives were supposed to be permanent it was dismissed, however Silver shared his discovery with fellow employees, including chemist Arthur Pryor.

Then one Sunday morning, Pryor who was a choir director, dropped his hymnal, resulting in a shower of inserted paper bookmarks. The solution was clear – to use partially sticky paper which Pryor remembered Silver had discussed.

However, as the product was created and distributed through the company to great popularity, the company marketing department wasn’t interested. Yet the product had great promise, so after further market research it was launched.

Likewise, Joseph was elevated to his high Egyptian position through the series of events that began with his brothers’ cruelty, yet he  eventually realized that God was using it all to preserve the Jews.

Maybe you’ve seen the same thing. Perhaps you’ve looked back and seen how God worked through a series of events to accomplish his purposes and plans yet in your life. Yet when we really think about it, with God’s perfect sense of design and timing, we really shouldn’t be surprised.

Anne Adams is a retired church staffer now living in Athens, Texas where she writes an historical column for the local newspaper. She has published one book and, in Christian and secular publications for forty years.