I was seeking the Lord early in the morning on Sunday, November 2nd. The worship service was a few hours away. I already knew what the Lord was leading me to teach after the time of worship. However, I had a sense that there was something else God wanted to show me. As I asked the Lord what was on His heart, and then just waited quietly and listened, He showed me the following picture. I saw someone who had made a quilt. As they looked at what was made, they were disappointed because they ran out of material halfway through the process. In the crafter’s desperation to complete the project, they sewed paper to the fabric, resulting in something unusable and disappointing. If the crafter had waited for the right material to arrive or be provided, then the quilt could have been beautiful and useful. Instead the goal was completing the project, not trusting in the provision for the project that God started.
I was reminded of the passage in Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” When we sacrifice our foundations, or where we began, in order to finish, we end up with something worthless, like a half-fabric, half-paper quilt. For this reason, Paul tells the people in the Galatian church that they have acted foolishly. The battle we face is whether to move and stand in faith each day with each “thing” God brings our way, or to try to finish in our own strength on our terms. Standing in faith leads us into righteousness, while finishing in our own strength leads to foolishness.
I am reminded of God’s promise that Paul encourages the Philippians with in Chapter 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” What a wonderful promise for us that is not dependent on us. We can have faith that this is true because it is dependent on the creator of the Universe, our all-powerful, loving God. He is the one who began the good work in you, and He will see it through. This promise is not just for the “big” things in our lives. Everything, no matter how small it seems in our lives, is under the covering of this promise. This includes every project, task, desire, dream, and so much more. Our job in partnering with God is to stand and live in and through faith, recognizing how we began, and trusting His will and timing for provision in everything. What He began in the Spirit, He wants to complete in the Spirit. I am ever grateful for a strong start, and I want to have an even stronger finish.
–George Oliver
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