by Pastor Greg Laurie
December 31, 2003
A Work in Progress
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
I am an artist. I like to draw and design. Sometimes when I am sketching, someone will come along, look over my shoulder, and see only a certain shape or form. I realize that all that is visible for the time being. But I am still working.
“What is it going to be?” the person asks.
“Just wait.”
“I think you should do it this way. . . .”
“Just let me do it,” I say. “Why don’t you let me alone until I’m finished, and then I will gladly show it to you.” Every artist loves to display his work. But when I am working on my art, I know it is a work in progress. When I am done, then I am happy to show it to others.
You, too, are a work in progress. God is doing a work in your life. When it is done, He will show you. If it is not done yet, be patient. God sees the end from the beginning. We can’t see what it is, but God can. That is important to remember. As God told the exiled nation of Israel, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11)
For Israel, it meant they would be in Babylon for awhile, but ultimately, God would get them out. For us, what it means specifically to us on a day-to-day basis, time will tell. Whatever it is, it is good, because God is in control of it.
Copyright © 2003 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.