Do Not Despise Me: I am Work in Progress

Daily Devotional – Monday, January 18, 2021

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.

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

Anyone who has interacted with a sculptor will agree that creating a masterpiece is a process, not an event. From a block of wood, the craftsman gradually and meticulously creates an artefact that initially only existed in his mind. The final product may not tell of the time, creativity and patience that has gone into its making.

The sculptor spends many hours working on the wood. His chips away huge chunks at first. Then he works on the finer details. Eventually he makes the surface smooth and applies wood varnish for preservation. However, if the sculpture was to give a testimony, it would complain bitterly about the pain it has undergone in the sculpting process. 

The relationship between God and His children is akin to that of the sculptor and the sculpture. Each of us is at a different stage of being fashioned into a complete, beautiful work of art. According to Philippians 1:6, God has been working on you since you believed. He has not finished with you yet.

You are work in progress. You are struggling with sin and its attendant consequences. Allow God to chip away the sin and weaknesses in your life. You are undergoing a process called sanctification. Realize that it is God who started the work of perfecting you. He alone will bring it to a close when He returns.

Learn to cooperate with God in the process of molding you into a finished product. Be patient with yourself. Also, remember that other people around you are in God’s workshop. Like you, they are not finished products yet. You will see faults in them. Forgive them when they hurt you.

You are work in progress. You family members, colleagues at work, neighbors and others around you are work in progress. Let God who started the good work in all of us continue with it until he completes it.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, always remind me to be patient and to cooperate with you as you continue working on me, your precious child. Let me not forget that everyone else around me is work in progress.