When Paul and I moved from the Midfield Ranch, we were so excited to get away from the construction on Hwy 59, soon to be Interstate 69. To get to the airport or to our sons’ houses we had to go through miles of construction. Bummer! Well, little did we know we would have construction on every road surrounding our new community. Not just a little construction but a LOT! Gravel trucks, dirt hauling trucks, dust flying everywhere, large concrete barriers on the roads, lanes that are closed or changed every week, traffic backed up, and a new school just ¼ mile from our road, so you know what that will be like when school starts. Am I complaining? Kinda! However, I wouldn’t move back or change where we live.
As I was driving through all the construction, I thought about our lives as Christians. Construction on us is never done. God will continually use situations in our lives to change us to look like Jesus. Philippians 1:6 promises this! “I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].”
Maneuvering around all the construction this morning, I thought about a song by the Gaither’s that I used to sing entitled, He’s Still Working On Me;
There really ought to be a sign upon my heart
Don’t judge me yet, there’s an unfinished part
But I’ll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master’s loving hands
He’s still working on me
To make me what I ought to be
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
‘Cause He’s still workin’ on me.
Yes, He’s still working on me, and you, and this will continue until we are in heaven. We are under construction. We may think that He has nothing more to work on, but just in case we think we are perfected, just ask our spouse, friend, children, dog, or anyone who is close to us what they think!!! We will get a wake-up call!
Here’s another song written by the Gaither’s that is like a prayer, but it also is a plea to be patient as God is still working on us…yes, all of us.
Dear Jesus, please make me more patient and kind,
And help us to be more like You.
And make room for all other children of Yours,
For they are still growing up, too.
Kids under construction –
Maybe the paint is still wet.
Kids under construction –
The Lord may not be finished yet.
I can assure you that He is not finished if we are on this planet. We all need lots of work! It’s so easy to pick out the flaws in our neighbor instead of looking in the mirror. It’s amazing how we want everyone to be kind and patient with us, but we don’t want to give them the same courtesy. We tend to forget what we were like as new Christians; young, foolish, judgmental, critical, impatient, complaining, naïve, jealous, envious, unforgiving just to name a few adjectives. Truly, God is patient! Am I saying I’ve arrived and don’t struggle with these emotions? NO! To be perfectly honest, I need God to continually (which He will without me asking) work on me, or should I say I need to continually yield to His molding.
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