“The Lord will work out his plans for my life…” (Psalm 138:8)
Food For Thought: Michelangelo, the great Italian Renaissance artist, once said, “Do not fret, for God did not create us to abandon us.” I’d say Michelangelo knew a little bit about starting and finishing works of art. His works took obvious amounts of patience, painstaking attention to detail, and a vast reservoir of love for his projects to see them through from what he had envisioned in his mind to their reality on canvas or in a finished block of marble. So he spoke with some authority when he referred to the infinite patience and unshakeable commitment and inexhaustible reservoir of love that is surely required for God to finish what he began when he created us.
It should give us great comfort to know that God leaves no work unfinished—and that includes you and me. We are his work of art. In fact, Paul says in Ephesians 2:10 that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works which he has prepared in advance for us to do.” That implies, among other things, that contrary to what you might think about yourself, God never makes a mistake; He only makes a masterpiece.
Furthermore, God is still at work in you. Paul also reminded us in Philippians 1:6 that this God “who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” In other words, the God who saved you, who begin a good work in you, will complete it! He will see it through from start to finish. So when you find yourself growing impatient with yourself…or if others are growing impatient with you, remember, God is not through with you yet.
You are God’s project! You are his work of art! You are his masterpiece! And right now—at this very moment—God is working out his plan for your life. So be encouraged, God always gets the job done!
Prayer: Lord, help me to be patient with myself (and others). Keep me from the frustrations of the snail’s pace at which I am growing. Help me to stay focused on and confident in your work in my life. I am so grateful for your patience and commitment and love in staying at the task of turning me from a mess into a masterpiece. Lord, fulfill your plan in me. May the product of my life bring joy to your heart and glory to your name. Amen.
Great Cloud of Witnesses: On this day in 1776, Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter, “A Christian is not of hasty growth…but rather like the oak, the progress of which is hardly perceptible, but in time a deep-rooted tree.”
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