A Work in Progress

Let me tell you a little story about myself. When I was five years old, I came home from the first day of kindergarten crying and very frustrated because we did not learn to read that day. I tell you the story because it provides an accurate picture of my personality to this day. I like results and I like them yesterday. As you can imagine, I’ve spent much of my life battling disappointment and frustration.

God has decided to press me on this issue this year. And as I’ve been squeezed and stretched, I think He wants me to understand that I am not a failure, but a work in progress. I want instant master piece, He wants progress.

He’s laid out for us a picture of the most excellent wife in Scripture. I read it, I embrace it, and I want to be her—the most excellent wife…now! He says, “Slow down. I need to squeeze you, and stretch you, and mold you into the most excellent wife.” I get discouraged and feel hopeless; yet He feels loving, merciful, and hopeful. He knew, before I was born, that I would be a work in progress.

As a wife, many days I feel hopeless about my progress. I wonder how I can know the right thing to do, and neglect (or stubbornly fight) doing it. I know that my tone of sarcasm instead of honor gets me nowhere with my husband, but I let snippy words come out. I should have made greater gains in resisting the SALE signs by now, but again, I’ve given in to those beautiful red and white letters. Ahh! I want instant results!

But, God wants a few achievable things from you and me. He desires us to be:

·         PLIABLE ~ Isaiah 64: 8 says, “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (see also 2 Corinthians 4:7-18) A pliable heart is one that’s ready for God to do a work. It’s a heart that’s soft toward His sometimes challenging molding and shaping.

·         PATIENT ~ Isaiah 30:18 says, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (see also Psalm 27:13-14; Psalm 40:1-3; Isaiah 40:30-31) He is faithful to complete the work, even when at times it seems to us He’s given up. He pushes us gently, and sometimes slowly, toward the picture of the most excellent wife He’s designed.

·         PERSISTENT ~ James 1:4 says, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (see also 1 Peter 4:19; Hebrews 10:35-39; Psalm 119:145-149) Keep running to Him. Feelings of failure can become bondage. Don’t let the enemy steal your hope. You are God’s work—His progress—not your own.

God is forming you into His masterpiece!