Philippians 1:6 And 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.
Romans 8:28-29 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Do you ever wonder why we are still here? Why does Jesus linger? The older I get, I ponder this a good bit, and lately, I feel sure that we are closer now than we have ever been to the return of Christ. Why does He delay? Well, only God can answer that question. The scripture tells us, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” (Mark 13:32) What if He is waiting for us to finish the good work that He has started in each of us?
No, God isn’t finished yet, and for whatever reason He is choosing to delay the return of Christ, we can rest assured knowing that it is because He isn’t finished. He isn’t finished molding me and making me to be the person that He desires for me to be. I have grown much closer in my walk with the Lord over the past few years. He has definitely changed me. He has given me a desire to serve Him, to study and read His word, and a yearning to share the gospel with others, but I am still lacking. I know that I am not yet the person that God created me to be. I fail Him daily, yet He always picks me right back up, dusts me off, and helps me start all over again. No, He isn’t finished with me yet. I’m a handful, but thankfully, God has big hands!
God isn’t finished using me yet either. Consider this for a moment. What if God has added one more day to our lives, not because we need it, but because someone else needs us? Have you ever considered that? God not only wants to do a good work within each of us, He also wants to use us to do a good work for Him with others. He desires for us to be a reflection of His love, to show grace and mercy, gentleness and kindness, and most importantly, to share the gospel. Right this very moment, there is a person in your life who needs you more than you realize. That person sees that radiance of God’s love in you, and they want what you have. God is using you to touch that person’s life with His light and love. But what about the bad times we go through? What about all of the trials we are enduring? Oh, my friend, God is using those too! Yes, He most definitely is. Through our faith in Christ and with the strength that only comes from Him, we endure our trials differently from the non-believer. We struggle, yes, but we endure. We don’t get mad and give up. Instead, we learn to lean even further on the Lord, and in doing so, our relationship with Him strengthens as He carries us through trial after trial. We come out refined like pure gold and stronger than we ever thought we could be. The funny thing to consider is that God sometimes uses those trials to not only strengthen our relationship with Him, but to bring others to Him. When we share our testimony of just how faithful our God was during the storms of life, our testimony will bring others to Him. Also, when others see how we weather the storms with the grace and strength of Christ, it makes an impact!
I know God isn’t finished with me yet, and I am so very thankful that He has never given up on me. I’m thankful that He continues to refine and purify me, strengthen me, and use me for my good and His glory. God isn’t finished with you yet either! Like that old hymn says, “We’ll work till Jesus comes, and we’ll be gathered home.” I can hardly wait to be gathered home, but until then…I’ll keep working because I know God isn’t finished!
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 