THE WORK HE HAS STARTED

Do you ever have one of those days when you feel totally inadequate; especially when it comes to your spiritual gifts and calling?  You look back over your life, searching for at least one tiny success but the only visible evidence is a broken attempt here, a shattered dream there, a still bleeding wound, a few bruises and many scars. These make up your only testimony to the true picture of the ministry God placed in your heart. That pretty much describes my perception as I knelt to pray this morning and all I could do was weep.

I wept over missed opportunity, my own willful choices, the failure of my heart to discern properly what God was saying, trying so hard to follow God’s direction but failing so miserably or so it seemed looking at the outcome.  In the middle of my prayer, I inserted a few prayer requests, and then wept because my petitions were so lukewarm and drowning in the whirlpool of my personal discouragement.  I followed my prescription of thanksgiving and praise but still, I could only weep.

At last the tears stopped and I opened my Bible to the chapters for today; Psalms and Philippians.  HE DID IT AGAIN!!!!  What a comfort…God knows exactly what we need.  When I am too consumed to hear His whispers of love, He will use His Word to assure me that He cares; He hasn’t forgotten me and I am still a work in progress.

I always read a Psalm first and this morning it just “happened” to be Psalms 138…

Psalms 138:8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; your mercy, oh Lord endures forever; do not forsake the works of your hands.

WOW!!! My heart began to beat again.  I’m not perfect; I’ve made mistakes: I haven’t always heard or understood the directions properly, but because of His mercy, HE WILL PERFECT THAT WHICH CONCERNS ME. 

Resting in the comfort and safety of His strong arms, I turned to my next reading of the day.  It just “happened” to be Philippians 1:6…

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

COINCIDENCE????  I don’t think so!!!  I prefer to call it AMAZING LOVE!  Not only is He perfecting that which concerns me but He will finish all that He has started. PRAISE BREAK!!!

Right there on the floor, all I could do was raise my hands to Heaven and Praise.  He is a good, good Father.

I become so impatient…His plan isn’t the way I had envisioned; I’m not where I thought I would be; sometimes life becomes so confusing and all I can do is put one foot in front of the other and most of the time I’m on a “need to know” basis…God doesn’t reveal all the details until I “need to know.”

When I finally come to the end of my own understanding and place all the mess and confusion in His capable hands, He takes the time to gently remind me through His Word, that I am exactly where He wants me to be…on His HOLY WORKBENCH, where He can put the “Finishing Touches” on the “Good Work” He has begun in me. 

As to the IMPATIENCE????  I might as well brace myself for the “long haul.”  Philippians assures me the work will not be complete until the “Day of the Lord.”