A Work In Progress Part 2

“I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship.”  Exodus 31:3 NASB 1995

I love to work alone, in the secret place. It is also the most enjoyable. It is a space of fearlessness and letting go. No ego, just a true finding out.

Each seeming mistake or mark that rings off key leads to the next more informed decision. That so-called mistake is somewhere underneath, building a history and telling a story through texture and layering. This all becomes connected to create a woven tapestry of elements that will eventually become resolved into a balanced composition.

There really are no mistakes, no such thing as failure in this type of work, only lessons to be learned. The marks underneath show a history of where it has been, and the ones on the surface show where it is heading. It is continually transforming. Each painting informs the next, the good and the bad.

This can also be said of our walk with Christ.

God, in His grace, uses all that we are to create His masterpiece. Our messy mistakes, failures and successes can be used for His glory. Sometimes we think God can’t use us because we aren’t there yet, we make mistakes, we ourselves are a work in progress. But what if God loves the process?

What if it reveals His glory and what He can do even in our weaknesses?

Our tendency can be to avoid the process because it often times involves pain and patience. We want to skip forward to the finished product where the beauty of the masterpiece is unveiled. But if we did that we would miss out on many surprises and unexpected things in store for us on the journey. God loves the process because He loves us enough to change and transform us.

The process is where we are built and found, things are added and subtracted and albeit uncomfortable at times, it is necessary. The more we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, the more we learn we can fearlessly trust Him in the process.

“I’m not there yet, nor have I become perfect; but I am charging on to gain anything and everything the Anointed One, Jesus, has in store for me—and nothing will stand in my way because He has grabbed me and won’t let me go.”  Philippians 3:12 The Voice