Progress not Perfection – Here We go Again!
Progress
Let's be real - no matter how hard we try to make the word "progress" look attractive, it will never land on our favorite words list.
Progress has the connotation of moving forward - which is good. However, I visualize a behemoth tortoise when thinking of the process of going from point A to point B in overcoming a habit, an attitude, a seemingly unsurmountable obstacle.
Hypertextbook.com tells us that the top speed of these reptiles is 0.13 to 0.30 mph. At this rate it takes over 4 1/2 hours to travel 1 mile.
Personally, I'm more of a hare girl. Assess the issue, habit, whatever it may be, get a plan, execute, and move on! Problem solved! Kind of like Terk on Tarzan - I have arrived.
No long drawn out ordeal, simply identify, problem solve, implement, and call that issue done! Simple, neat, and tidy!
Henceforth, that is when real complications begin. I'm so busy trying to get out from under whatever is currently derailing me that I sort of forget WHO is in charge. I have to remind myself once again that my idea of perfection is not the name of the game.
https://gracefilledjourney.com/progress-not-perfection/
Life is not about hitting home runs at every at bat; life is allowing God to shape us into who He wants us to become in order to fulfill His purpose in our lives. It's about us giving Him the reigns in order to produce beauty from the hard and unpleasant things that we just want to go away so that we can rest in our version of peace and tranquility!
In Jeremiah 1:5 NCV we read these words:
Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you.
Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
God chose each of us for a special work. Too often we miss why we're here. We get so caught up in our plans, our picture perfect that we forget Adonai!
Here's the catch 21 - in order to become who our Creator designed, we have to release the worldly in order to receive the heavenly. To put it bluntly, we have to change ~
NO
WAY
Sweet Friends, that change cannot happen instantaneously, it has to be progressive. Why, because if it were easy, we'd never experience the powerful hand of God molding and shaping us into something beautiful for His glory. We'd never feel His grace pick us up when we fall down again and again. (Titus 2:11&12) We'd never bask in His love when we do make better choices.
Progress is essential for growth ~ you never go from planting to harvest in the snap of a finger!
But here's some sweet news:
- God is at work
- God is the strength and the energy
- God is creating (-ing means He isn't quitting) in us not only the longing but the ability to fulfill His purpose
For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 AMP
In order to be who God has purposed us to be, we have to make changes in our flesh that will require do over after do over after do over. Weary Friends, don't give up on whatever God is calling you to overcome.
It may seem like you're never going to arrive. You may be at the point of "Here we go again and again and again". Learn a lesson from tortoises: it may take a while to travel that mile, but at the end of that stretch in the road you are 5,280 feet closer to your God given purpose!
Progress with Abba Father is perfect ~
