Under Construction

Don't you just hate it when you're taking a leisurely drive down the road and, all of a sudden, traffic slows to a crawl?

Or worse, you are in a hurry to get somewhere and, bam! you are stuck bumper to bumper in stand still traffic?

You may sit and wonder, was there an accident? (If, so I hope everyone is ok!)

But more than likely you are stuck because they had to fix a pothole or some other really seemingly important fix, and the road is, you guessed it, under construction.

We huff and puff at the inconvenience construction causes in our days.

Whether you can't get your favorite Starbucks drink, because the store is closed due to renovations, or the website you want to visit is "undergoing planned maintenance". Construction is everywhere.

Even within us (Oh! there it is the whole point of this article)

If we are living the life that God designed us to live, we are CONSTANTLY under construction.

You hear the mantras, the affirmations and see the uplifting quotes people plaster on their social media that all boil down to one idea.

It's ok to be a work in progress!!!

We aren't perfect people; we don't lead perfect lives. Not one of us. And thankfully, we do not have to try to live perfect lives on our own.

Philippians 1:6 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

When you own a house, you have to do maintenance to keep it in optimal condition.

You pick up around the house daily, so clutter doesn't gather.

You do weekly chores to keep the house clean.

But sometimes you have a leak, or something breaks, that causes a huge disturbance. And have to do some major construction work.

God works the same way.

We do things daily to grow closer to God so that when the big trials hit, we are not knocked onto our hind ends, and we can still stand strong in our faith.

And if you fall, guess what??

God will help you stand back up.

Ephesians 4:22-24 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

That grand transformation that some people expect when they come to God, is often more a of slow transition. (Though not always so as not to discredit the radical transformations that God CAN do)

Why?? Because we are still fleshly beings, in a world filled with tempation to fall back into our old selves.

That daily renewal is a constant shedding of the old and putting on the new.

It's an active conscious effort.

But we are God's creation

Ephesians 2:10 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God created us for great things. BUT great things are HARD sometimes.

Showing up for God is HARD sometimes.

Even Paul struggled

Philippians 3:12-14 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

And we are to follow Paul's example

Philippians 3:15-16 15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

We are running a marathon. (UGH!! another metaphor???) Life is not a sprint

There will be good days and bad days.

There will be days I go to bed feeling like I was the perfect Proverbs 31 woman (or at least really close).

Then there will be days when I yell at my husband and tell him I don't care what his clothes look like when he goes to the store as long as he's the one that goes!! (Ok that may not sound terrible, but I was REALLY mean when I said it. (Sorry baby if you're reading this.))

To draw it back to the initial metaphor, remember how frustrating it is when our smooth drive has delays?

Well, what kind of inconvenience or negative feelings do you think it creates when the pothole in your attitude causes your partner to get a flat tire???

But construction takes work!!!

Construction takes the right equipment.

Do you delay that construction because working on yourself is hard work??

Do you delay working on yourself because you are afraid of what it will look like once the construction is complete?

Is it easier to leave a little pot hole rather than pave a whole road?

Maybe for a short time...

But pot holes get bigger.

If we allow sin in our lives we become desensitized to it.

But I can assure you, if God is your department of transportation, the construction may take time, but if you open yourself up and let him do the work and you also put in your necessary efforts, you will have picture perfect roadways before you know it.

Enjoy the ride, don't detour through a delay, or turn around and change your mind about the destination.

Life might a journey, but it's ALL about the destination.