We got into church, I dropped the kids off in their classrooms and headed into worship. As we began to sing those words came back to me - You're such a hypocrit standing here singing as if you didn't have a tough morning. You really need to get yourself in control. You're no where near where you should be at this point. Get it together! Then suddenly a though occurred to me which I have spoken to myself many times since then:
The Enemy will say, "Look how far you have to go! Might as well give up because you'll never get there!" God says, "Look how far I've brought you! Can you trust Me to complete the work I started?"
I spent the rest of worship in tears as He brought to memory truly how far I've come. I was raised in a "broken" family and faced my fair share of difficulties as a child, but somehow came away without becoming a "statistic." The Enemy primed me to fall into all the temptations of a young person in my situation, BUT GOD protected me and brought me through it all. I'm not where I want to be, but God has brought me so much healing that I'm not sure my high school self would recognize me now!
Praise God that He finished what He completes! I am not a finished product, but a work in progress. I still have a long way to go, but I don't go it alone!
If you're like me and have those moments where you start barrading yourself for not being better, smarter, calmer, faster, more mature, more put together . . . more . . . better . . . STOP. Take a moment and think back a month, a year, ten years. Pause and notice how far God has brought you and then make a conscience (maybe even outloud) declaration that you will trust Him to complete what He started!
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
