To Completion

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Listen to this devotional:

Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

I love to do crafts. It is not uncommon for me to be working on multiple projects at the same time, including knitting on my needles and doing counted cross-stitch. The reason that I have a few projects on the go is that some nights, after a day's work, my eyes are tired, so I work on something that is not as straining for my eyes. Other nights, I feel I want the challenge, and I work on one of the more intricate projects.

No matter what I am working on, I love to get started on a new project, sorting the colours of the threads or seeing the pattern in a knitting begin to emerge. Usually, though, at some point, it loses the draw of excitement, and it becomes routine to work on it. That is another reason for me having a few projects on the go at one time: it helps me to get the item to completion by being able to work on something else for a few nights and then go back to the first project.

I am presently working on a set of needlepoint placemats and napkins with hummingbirds on them, for my parents' anniversary. As I got up to do an errand, I put the needlework down. I placed it face down on the table, revealing the back side of my work. As neat as I have been, it still has threads that are running here and there across the back of the work. Yet, the front side shows no evidence of this; the front is neat and beautifully shows the colour and shape of the hummingbirds.

To me, this is also a reflection of how our lives can be. On the inside, we have a tangled mess of this and that in our sinful bodies, yet on the outside, it looks like we have it all together, and we portray beauty — like the hummingbirds.

There is One, though, who sees the inside. He sees our hearts and takes the tangles and turns them into beauty and perfection. He also works on different areas of our lives at the same time, as well as taking a break at times to let us heal and draw closer to Him. It is in these times that He is able to reveal His work and love for us.

Exodus 35:35 – He has filled them will skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver — those who do every work and those who design artistic works. (NKJV)

Hebrews 13:20-21 – Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

Prayer: Dear Jesus, let this verse from Hebrews 13 be our blessing for today, as Your Word puts it beautifully for us. Help us to recognize that You are also working on others whose paths cross ours; help us to show grace and forgiveness to them. We praise and give reverence to the One who can take the tangled mess of our lives and turn it into a work of beauty. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Julie Bowles <julieanni@rogers.com>
Barrie, Ontario, Canada

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