Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
…I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. – Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
===
Not scared too say I used to be that one
Preaching it too u that u could overcome
I still believe it but it aint easy
Cause that world I painted where things just all work out
It started changing & I started having doubts
And it got me so down
But I picked myself back up
And I started telling me
No my God’s not done
Making me a masterpiece
He’s still working on me
He started something good & He’s gonna complete it
So I celebrate that truth
I’m just unfinished
I’m just unfinished
So I celebrate that truth
I’m just unfinished – Mandisa “Unfinished”
I was at GHOSTLIGHT Coffee a little earlier this week. It is an eclectic little house on Wayne Avenue. The coffee is good but in this case the conversation was better.
I was catching up with a friend, a true champion for the addicted. He has helped countless folks. He finds ministry just about everywhere he goes. NA meetings, AA meetings, driving for UBER, leading at NEXT STEP, counseling, pretty much wherever he is, ministry is happening.
And it was he that reminded me of this little song from Mandisa this week.
He shared it in the context of announcing to me his “semi-retirement”. And while I fully expect him to continue to play an important supporting role in the recovery communities, he is relinquishing the lead.
Yet he was quick to say that he was UNFINISHED.
He had been knocked down a little of late; beaten up by some of the challenges that come with funding his recovery efforts. Church apathy, bureaucracy, inefficiencies have all led to his fatigue and stepping down, but he fully embraces that passage, that GOD who began the work, never stops the work and now the work is just “changing”.
So, I share this little song and brief glimpse into the journey of my friend to say this this morning.
GOD is ALWAYS WORKING in your life.
You may experience seasons when you feel like ALL is clicking, that you are in your lane, that you are in the lead only to have the season change, to have your "sure-footedness" suddenly experience a little craggy or slippery terrain; a unexpected bend in the road.
IT’S OK…
GOD who began you on your path is still right there to lead you, instruct you, challenge you, and refine you!
Our job is to keep listening, stay obedient, stay faithful, and allow the work to continue! It will be worth it.
When your faith is proven to be pure, the result will be praise and glory and honor – 1 Peter 1:7 (ERV)
It is interesting to me though, this friend hasn’t been the only one who feeling ‘unfinished’.
There is a dear pal from Columbus, a financier who wants more for his life. There is a former Refuge fella who is being pushed from his comfortable small group into the challenges of Perry County. There is the sweet team of change-makers from Middletown who are “having to change the work" to continue the work. A friend from Clinton County who has been in an extended season of purgatory and patience while GOD works the details.
The point today is this; we are ALL unfinished.
We ALL are going to experience seasonal change. Trust me.
ALL our “faith” is being tested and refined on a daily basis by our GOD who has begun something in us and promises to complete it.
So, embrace your un-finishedness.
GOD has His hand on you. He has from the beginning.
He started something good, believe it
He started something good & He’s gonna complete it!
Have a blessed weekend.
I love you all
OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE
No comments:
Post a Comment