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Ephesians 3:16-19 – I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (NIV)
Recently, I began renovating a small cabin on our property. Everything needed doing from top to bottom. Sanding, filling, scrubbing, painting, and trim work were part of the redo. Everything had to be done in a certain order, and everything took time. The biggest challenge, which took the greatest time and patience, was the trim work. Painting the ceilings and the walls in the large open spaces was one thing. Painting the trim was another. Some of it was fairly straightforward, but much of it was around small window panes and fine corners. All of it bordered on already freshly painted walls or ceilings, so steady eye-hand co-ordination was a must so as not to be smearing paint.
As I laboured and sighed — which was often — it occurred to me that perhaps when I go through periods of feeling that nothing much is happening spiritually in my life or service for God, such feelings are an untruth. Perhaps God is simply working on the trim. After all, grasping the width and length and height and depth of the love of Christ so that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God is a humongous task.
The large problem areas of our lives are easily identified, and we often see God's work progressing there, but it's all those subtle inner changes — the trim work — that seem to need the most patience and time to be corrected and brought into line with the ways of Christ and His kingdom.
Perhaps today you are feeling that nothing much is happening spiritually in your life or service for God. If so, consider the ways of God and today's Scripture, and remember that the task of transformation and filling takes time and patience and skill, especially the trim work, which might just be where God is working on you right now.
Prayer: Father God, thank You that You are always at work in our lives, seeking to root and establish us in love that we might be a holy people able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
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Thanks, Lynne, excellent lesson.
Thanks, Lynne. As always, you hit the nail on the head.
Dear Lynne,
I appreciate your inspiration to wait on the Lord for the “trim.” In His timing.
A very striking and memorable devotional, Lynn. Makes this scripture come alive to me. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thanks for sharing this devotional with us. Yes, fiddly work can become stressful, but needs to be done. Thanks again for sharing. Blessings.
Thank you, Lynne, for a deep and very pertinent message…which God knew I needed this morning.
Blessings.
Lynne, I am always amazed by how you can relate every day chores to scripture with great meaning and great encouragement. I forward most of your devotionals to others because they are so helpful. Thank you.
Hi Lynne,
Such a timely encouraging devotional today. Who amongst us has never felt like we were uselessly set aside for a while? It’s a great thought to apply God “working on the trim” in such instances as these. Thank you!
Hi Lynn,
Good devotional this morning. There are times when we have trouble doing things in the right order, and quite often that makes our lives difficult to say the least.
Thank you for writing, no animal story today!
Good Morning Lynne.
Again, thanks for your devotion. It is an easy read and shows how God is there in every aspect of our lives. I am partially disabled, and it is so good to hear that you are able to do so much, you are always so busy…. Do take care and enjoy the day.
Blessings.
Good Morning,
Yes, the “trim bits” can be tricky. When we trimmed out our Newly paneled cabin, we painted the trim, then put it on. All we had to do after was sink the nail holes, put on wood filler, wipe it smooth, and dab on paint with a Q-tip. Voila!
We enjoyed your Devotional, and hope you have a wonderful and blessed Day.
Hi Lynne,
Many thanks for another very good writing and an excellent comparison of doing the big renos down to the smaller but more intricate jobs just like our loving God works in every area of our lives with His abounding love reaching into every crevice.
Blessings to you,
(B.C.)
As one who has been through almost 6 years renovating a 2 ½ storey century home, I can wholly identify with your situation. A further thought: there’s an awful lot of work to do before you see the transformation. My husband had to fix some structural things, even before the removal of old wall covering and plaster repair. The first thing was to get rid of old carpet to reveal hardwood floors, and old curtains to allow the beauty of the windows to be seen. Wow. Now, the old lady is smiling again. Not done yet, but I, too, need some reno work! Thanks.
Dear Lynne,
You always write such beautiful devotions, and this certainly is not an exception!
Many thanks.
Hi Lynne
Thank you…this was very good. Never thought about it being like trim work! Slow and tedious but effective when done.
God bless.