Christians, a work in progress is often hard to understand. Every painting an artist paints inevitably will not be the same. The brush strokes on the canvas can vary in length, width, depth, as well as color, frequency and consistency. I believe that God is painting a portrait of each and every one of our lives. We often try and figure out what the final look will be before He is done. We can try and guess what things He will do now and try to imagine what He he will do next.
It can be frustrating to try and guess what God is doing in your life, to try and figure out what He is going to do next, as well as what the final picture will be. It can be dangerous to look into the life of other Christians and evaluate what He is doing in their life. Sometimes, because God has done things a certain way in our lives, we look at others and assume they are off-track or out of the will of God, when their life is ‘different’. When God does something new, we have no framework to put what He is doing into a category, so we ignorantly assume, it is not of Him.
If you have ever been on the receiving end of these thoughts and actions it was most likely discouraging. It does not feel good to question someone’s walk, and it does not feel good to be questioned in your walk. I am not saying that you cannot look at blatant, continual, rebellious sin and know that God is not pleased. However, if God has people in a situation or testing period, He may be working things out for their good and His Glory that takes them on a new, uncharted path, which may be confusing to them as well as others.
We need to pray and support fellow Christians in their trials. Instead of praying for them to “get back on track” we need to pray as Jesus taught: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done.” We can openly pray for God’s will to be done in people’s lives. It does not mean we will always understand it or like the process. God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). He knows what the end portrait will look like, and He knows the way to get it just right. We simply need to rest in His sovereignty and watch the Great Artist turn blank canvases of human lives into masterpieces for His eternal Kingdom: one test, one trial, one blessing, one reward, each brushstroke…one at a time, in Jesus name, Amen.
Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him. Psalm 115:3 (NIV)
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work-out according to His plan. Ephesians 1:11 (NLT)
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)
Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. James 4:13-15 (AMP)
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you. I Peter 4:19 (NLT)
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14 (NASB)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
written and posted by Daniel Poggensee | 2017
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