Welcome to my {life} Under Construction series! In case you missed it, here is the link to part 1.
We are looking at the way life changes often follow the same process as home improvements do. Yesterday we talked about how a good plan is foundational to the success of the project.
Today we will look at how the project is secured by a promise.
Phase 2: Promise
”Yet [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
Romans 4:20-21 (NIV)
Agreement
Before any work can get underway, we start with a promise. In the home improvement world it’s a contract, by which the contractor and the homeowner enter into an agreement and each promise to hold up their end of the bargain.
The contractor promises to do the job he is contracted for. He promises to follow the plans and deliver the vision set forth in the plans and specifications. He promises to follow his timetable and to use materials and workmanship consistent with both sound building standards and his own reputation.
The client promises to allow the contractor access to the project site, adequate room to work, and a large degree of control over the process. The client also promises to take action and make decisions when needed.
When we are agreeing to give God room to work in our lives, we, too, must surrender control and give Him access to our hearts!
The entire construction agreement may exist in contract form as a legality, but the most successful projects come out of a relationship built on trust. Each has to trust that the other is honest and committed to doing their part.
Change requires vision and trust. BIG change requires big vision and big trust!
Big vision means being able to see things not as they are, but as the could be.
So often in my role as a designer, I become future-minded. Once the design is finalized, I begin to see a project in my mind as though it has already happened, even before the project begins.
I think it’s like that with God! He already knows what the finished product is going to look like and he loves that we are trusting Him with the process and with the outcome.
We bring Him the worn out, worn down, broken and unattractive parts of ourselves, and He sees us as redeemed, restored, rebuilt and renewed.
How amazing is that? His vision of who we are is amazing because has designed us in His image.
We, with all our imperfections, with the ugliness we try not to let anyone see, and with the struggles we face — we are children of the Most High God, created in His image! We were created for His pleasure, and nothing delights and pleases Him more than to have us surrender our lives to Him and live a life that glorifies Him. And because of Christ’s work of salvation that has already been done, God looks upon us in our brokenness and He sees us as we were designed to be. If only we can trust Him with our hearts, we can enjoy the process of becoming that which He created us to be!
Big trust means relinquishing control to one who has the ability and the means to bring vision into reality.
Even when we don’t understand how it works, or why it needs to be done a certain way, or see how it’s going to come together, we have to have trust in the One who does.
”Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
The Hebrew word used for “trust” in this verse is “batah,” which means “to have confidence in”. It connotes the feeling of security that comes from well-placed trust. Have confidence in the Lord, with all your heart. Wholehearted confidence. In my world we call that faith!
Confidence
“Now faith is CONFIDENCE in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see…”
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV, emphasis mine)
So it comes down to this: Do we have big trust in the One who has big vision? Are we confident in His design, His plan and His ability to make all things new?
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or i magine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
I hope you’ll join me tomorrow as we dig into the 3rd phase of life under construction (warning: it’s going to get messy!)
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