Potholes and Patches

"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."  Philippians 1:6

In the summer time, all across our nation, reconstruction on our highways and avenues is taking place. The smell of hot tar is in the air, and the roar of paving machines assaults our ears. Parts of pavement have been stripped down to their "washboard" layer in preparation for being repaved. "Men Working" signs tell us to slow down, and men with "Stop" signs are directing traffic. "Detour" signs redirect us from our chosen routes. This causes us inconvenience and, in many cases, we become impatient and aggravated when we travel. We tend to gripe and complain about all the construction. But I wonder how much we would gripe and complain if our roads were never repaved? They would be full of potholes and patches. It really is pleasant to glide over smooth new pavement. We don't like the process, but the end result is very appealing.

God has His construction projects in our lives. Think of Joseph who was sold into slavery in Egypt and then unjustly thrown into prison where he spent several years. Think of Moses fleeing for his life from Pharaoh and tending to helpless, smelly sheep on the backside of a hot, barren desert for forty years. No doubt these men suffered during the processes that refined them, but God used them greatly afterward.

When we complain and lose patience with God's processes of refinement in our lives, we would do well to think what kind of people we would be if God had just left us alone. In Romans chapter one we see some people who so completely ignored God and so persisted in their evil deeds that "God gave them over" to exercise all their sinful desires. There are chilling words. When God works on us to make us more like Jesus, we should be grateful and cooperate with Him as much as possible. He is continuously filling in our potholes and repaving our patched areas. Even though we may chafe under the process, the results will be well worth it.

Heavenly Father, thank You that you never give up on those who belong to You. May we be grateful for Your refining processes in our lives and enjoy the beneficial results. Amen.