The Unfinished Sculpture: A Work in Progress

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 

 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. Philippians 3:12-14 (MSG)

We will never arrive on this side of Heaven. As I’ve said before, God has placed within us an insatiable need for him, causing us to run after Him with greater fervor. It’s the reason we desire to be in the Word, and striving to live a life like Jesus on a day-to-day basis. It’s the reason for passion in the things we set out to do in life. 

Understanding that God looks upon us and sees us in our completeness is almost unfathomable at times.  God’s nature is to see us in our completed state of being, not the empty, broken vessels that we typically are. It’s amazing to think that He sets aside our flaws, failures, and shortcomings to see us as who He’s specifically created us to be. God doesn't see as man sees. Man sees the flesh. God sees the heart. He sees us already complete in Him. 

The things we are lacking, we already have in Christ. He simply asks us to walk in them-in complete forgiveness, complete righteousness, complete favor. And in the mean time, God keeps chiseling away at who we currently are...confident that we will become who He really sees in us. 

I love that in Lysa Terkeurst’s book, Unglued she paints a picture of our lives using Michelangelo’s statue of David: 

“Sources say that the artist [Michelangelo] never left his David. For more than two years he worked on and slept beside the six-ton slab of marble whose subject called to him from inside the unchiseled places. When at last the seventeen-foot David emerged, Michelangelo reported to have said, ‘It is easy. You just chip away the stone that doesn’t look like David.’” 

My prayer is that He’d chip away at the “stones," the things of life, that don’t resemble the ME He sees. He’s working on the hard places in order for you and I to come into the light of who He’s designed us to be. 

...and I’ll embrace the chiseling because it’s actually a beautiful thing. 

Everything is Made Beautiful in its Time

Thought of the day

In Ecclesiastes 3, the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, expounds on the times and seasons of our lives and how they all fit together. Life is not some vague process of subtle, illogical patterns placed willy-nilly in our path for us to puzzle over. It's a composite of definitives: joys and sorrows, gains and losses, giving and keeping, laughing and grieving, loving and losing...on and on until the last day arrives. 

-Luci Swindoll 

A Time for Everything

3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

The God-Given Task

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 

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Our lives will go through seasons-some great...others not so great, it's just a fact of life. But I've come to learn that what we do with these seasons truly matters to God. He allows us to walk through the rough to find the beautiful in it. The hardship that we endure causes us to draw closer to God, and in turn, rely on His strength. These seasons allow us to come to a place where we are feeding our souls. 

On Sunday, Pastor Russ spoke a message titled, "Come as a Child." He stated that Jesus never misses an opportunity to teach His children something, just as a parent does with a child. We all have an insatiable need for Jesus-a need for him to be present in our lives. I love the fact that in Ecclesiastes 3:11 it also teaches us that God has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. He's placed that insatiable desire in us so that we'd run after him every day. We'll never arrive on this side of Heaven. There's so much to know of God. His character. His love. His endless pursuit of us. 

Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing can be taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. 

In our seasons of victory and seasons of defeat, God has called us to revere Him. To regard Him with respect, honor, and awe. To cherish, treasure, and esteem His name. 

With that, the questions I asked myself this morning were these: "Am I embracing every aspect of every season God has for me? Do I see the good in it and the beautiful God will bring out of it? Or am I forgetting that God allows us the hard times to grow closer to Him, and ultimately so He gets the glory for it? My prayer is that I'd be a woman who reveres Christ, even through hardships. As Christians, we are called to live our lives set apart, that the rest of the world may see Jesus through us. 

-Reanna 

A Virtuous Woman

Last night during our discipleship group, Tracy spoke on Proverbs 31 and the disciplines we embrace as virtuous women of God. Although I've read through this chapter of the Bible hundreds of times, it was a timely reminder and lead me to study the chapter more intently.. 

Proverbs 31:10-31 A Wife of Noble Character

(Note that Proverbs 31 alludes to the wife, but also refers to the virtuous woman in general)

A Virtuous woman: 

10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
    She is more precious than rubies.

• virtuous: morally excellent; wholesome
• capable: able, gifted, intelligent
• precious: valuable, highly esteemed, treasured

11 Her husband can trust her,
    and she will greatly enrich his life.

• trustworthy: authentic, realistic, credible, honest, responsible, sensible 
• enriching: improves, enhances, builds up 

12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.

• Her husband/friends would say of her, "She makes ME a better ME." 

13 She finds wool and flax
    and busily spins it.

• busy: active, persevering, diligent, purposeful
• She provides clothing for her family 

14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
    bringing her food from afar.

• She seeks to provide food for her family
• A virtuous woman plays a vital role as God's instrument 

15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
    and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

• Idleness and laziness have no place with her
• She plans: is intentional, has purpose and orderliness 

16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
    with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

• Puts careful thought into things and does not make hasty decisions. The virtuous woman asks herself, "Would this decision be pleasing to God?"
• She carefully considers what she will devote her time to 

17 She is energetic and strong,

    a hard worker.

• energetic: spirited, dynamic, animated, active, lively
• strong: able, secure, stable, steady, well-founded, unyielding (in her faith)
• hard-working: determined, diligent, eager, engaged, enthusiastic, resolute 

18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
    her lamp burns late into the night.

• sensible: ensures that there's profit in her labor 
• She doesn't grow weary in well-doing (Galatians 6:9)
• The Word of God is her lamp- it guides her as she keeps it burning 

19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
    her fingers twisting fiber.

• She is constantly engaged in beneficial, worthwhile pursuits 

20 She extends a helping hand to the poor

    and opens her arms to the needy.

• compassionate: kindhearted, responsive, sympathetic 
• She seeks God for wisdom and discernment on how to help those in need 

21 She has no fear of winter for her household,
    for everyone has warm clothes.

• She plans ahead 

22 She makes her own bedspreads.
    She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

• industrious: works energetically and devotedly 
• Her outward garments match her inner beauty 
• She understands that her body is a temple and that modesty is the fruit of her confidence and security in Christ 

23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
    where he sits with the other civic leaders.

• She contributes tremendously to her husband's prosperity and greatness 
• She recognizes the value of her influence in his life-she possesses one of the loudest voices he may hear 

24 She makes belted linen garments
    and sashes to sell to the merchants.

• Once again, she is industrious

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
    and she laughs without fear of the future.

• Possesses strength: durability, stability, VITALITY, courage
• Possesses dignity: decency, self-respect, virtue, morality, honor, greatness
• Her faith and hope are in Christ-she has peace about the unpredictable circumstances of life that are to come

26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
    and she gives instructions with kindness.

• Her words call others to greatness, rather than tearing them down
• She evaluates her words before she speaks and utters only what is beneficial 

27 She carefully watches everything in her household
    and suffers nothing from laziness.

• careful: attentive, mindful, observant, vigilant
• watchful: alert, cautious
• She is a proficient manager of her home 

28 Her children stand and bless her.
    Her husband praises her:

• She is greatly respected as a mother and a wife
• She is worthy to be praised 

29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
    but you surpass them all!”

• Many women fall short, but the virtuous woman has honored God and her family completely in the way she lives her life

30Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
    but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

• FEARS THE LORD: She has an awareness of God's presence, and a holy reverence for Him
• She realizes that outer beauty fades, but that her inner beauty lasts and is precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 3:4)

31 Reward her for all she has done.
    Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

• Her works speak for themselves
• The Lord is pleased with her because she has done His Will 

Lord, thank you for Your Word that gives us insight as to how we should live our lives. We want to live a life that honors You above all else. Make us virtuous women whose lives are characterized by moral excellence, faith, dignity, trust, strength, courage, wholeness, stability, wisdom, and confidence. May we be great in Your sight. Let Your light shine through us as we live out a life that is pleasing to You. May we recognize that we are valued and loved unconditionally by a Father who will never fail us. When we fall short, I pray that we'd be women who know how to refocus and keep going. Thank you for the virtuous women you have placed as examples in our lives. Continue to grow us through those relationships. I pray against lies of the enemy that say we'll never measure up and that we'll never be good enough because Your Word says that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." Thank you for the ways that you have gifted us and the purpose we find in You. Change our hearts and renew our minds.