Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 11/07/08)

It Is All About The Process

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (Amplified Bible)
13) But we, brethren beloved by the Lord, ought and are obligated [as those who are in debt] to give thanks always to God for you, because God chose you from the beginning as His firstfruits (first converts) for salvation through the sanctifying work of the [Holy] Spirit and [your] belief in (adherence to, trust in, and reliance on) the Truth.
14) [It was] to this end that He called you through our Gospel, so that you may obtain and share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

About a month ago I asked my mom to show me some crocheting, stitches. I needed an outlet to relax and so since my normal means for relaxation were gone, I had seen her crocheting a box pattern and I thought it was so intricate and beautiful I wanted to learn so that I could have something to do, but also something that would give me a beautiful end result. My first attempts were frustrating. Because my mom is quick and good at what she does I found myself watching her and thinking this is harder than I thought. Then my mother turned the needle and the yarn over to me and I was struggling to grasp the concept. My mind some how had issues translating the task at hand to my fingers. My stitches were loose and looked nothing like the beautiful squares that my mother had made. As the day went on, I pulled it apart and started again, it was a bit better, the nest time. The next day the first thing I did when I woke up besides pray was to grab the needle and the yarn in pursuit of that square. I pulled it apart again. That evening I started again this time there was a rhythm, a flow, a method a process to my attempt and it was evident in the end result, a square had formed and I had finally mastered this allusive stitch.

For many of us, our process of sanctification is much like learning a new stitch, new skill or a new behavior. We accept Christ through salvation and the expectation is that all will miraculously be perfect in our world. That we will not battle with those fleshly desires or the behaviors that plagued us prior to salvation. But as with everything, we find that we are not an over night sensation, but instead we bumble and stumble through, often becoming frustrated and contemplating giving in and giving up. But then we realize that Christ justified us He carried our sins to the cross and nailed them to it along side Himself, and they became covered by His blood. But the pursuit to get it right and live a life that is pleasing to God still seems near impossible because of the battle that exist between our spirit and our flesh. But as we continue to allow God to unravel our way of thinking and doing things, we realize that each time we submit to His correction, the Word of God and His will that our pattern becomes clearer and our life exemplifies Christ more and more. But we are not an over night sensation, instead we obtain sanctification through becoming tenured in Christ and being submitted and committed to Him, His ways and His will.

What process do you find yourself committed to? Is it the one that leads to Christ or the one that leads away from Christ. Are we in a place of submission to God's Spirit in order to be recreated and become new? For many of us it is time to let God upset the balance in "our lives," in order for us to be sanctified and made new. In order for our stitches to become tight, and show forth the beauty of the pattern that God is creating in us!