Monday, May 11th, 2009 "Unfinished"

Tsunami Devotional by Steve Keaton
Monday, May 11^th, 2009
Title: Unfinished
Text: Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

A couple of years ago I hired a band to play at one of the Tsunami Ministries Fall Experience weekends. The name of the band was “Unfinished Business” and these guys were great. They were not the typical band that we would have hired to play one of our weekends, but they did a great job. They were just a bunch of great guys who had been around the block a few dozen times. There were a few dents in the fenders. They had weathered a few storms. Okay, basically what I am saying is that they were a little older than our usual bands. They were not old by any stretch of the imagination, but they had been to a few high school reunions.

It was great to have the chance to hang out with them and get to know them more. They enjoyed being with all the youth who were attending the event, they were passionate about their music and they had no problem sharing their stories of how God had been and continued to work in their lives. That is why they picked the name for their band.

It seems these days, everywhere I look and everywhere I go, I keep running into things that cause me to think about this idea of being “Unfinished”. As I look at my life, where I’ve come from as a guy raised by single mom with modest means, to my time in the army and as a Charlotte police officer, then how ministry began for me 18 years, to what God is doing in my life and ministry now, and wondering what could possibly take place in the future, I fully realize that I am totally unfinished. It is so nice to know that God is still working on me to challenge me, stretch me, shape me, call me and send me to be the person that God has planned for me to be. And I am very okay with that. I would be sad if the person I am now was God’s full plan for me and my life. Not that my life isn’t amazing, but I want to do so much for God.

Think about your life. Look at the person you are today. How has God changed you from the person you were a few years ago. Think about your faith and your confidence in sharing your love and relationship with God with those your encounter each day. And what does your future hold? Only God knows, and that is so cool. Scripture says that a good work has begun in each of us. Not a mediocre work, or a so-so work and certainly not a bad work. Instead, God has begun a good work in each and every one of us. I can’t help but think that work is for each of God’s creation to do amazing and impactful things in this world that will cast a brilliant and blinding light on the glory of God. That work is for each of us to reach our full potential and truly realize who we are created to be. Also know that God has not just began a good work in us and then left us unfinished. God will continue to work in our lives and as artist works to complete the masterpiece. We are God’s masterpiece. We are the beautiful lighthouse standing firmly on the ocean’s cliff guiding the seeking ships past the dangers and into God’s safe harbor. We are the hands that will comfort, welcome, love and accept those whom this world sends away and fails to take care of. And how cool is it to know that even as an unfinished work, God still calls us and uses us to do the work at hand? Then one day the master craftsman will return and add the final touches to the work that began in each of us well before we ever realized there was a craftsman. At that time, we will be finished.

So as you make your way through your life, day by day, year by year, find strength in the fact that we are all unfinished, works in progress. We have all come so far and the future is bright. It is sure to be an amazing ride as we see where God calls all of us on our journeys.

Something to Think About:

• How have you seen God mold you from the person you one once was into the person you are today?
• What took place to make those things able to happen?
• In what ways would you consider yourself “Unfinished”?
• Even though you are an unfinished piece of God’s art, what more can you do to positively impact this world for God?
• How can you help others do the same?

A Few Minutes with God:

God, Master Craftsman, creator of all. Thank you for the good work you began in my life. Thank you for your presence in my life and for using me to, and unfinished piece, to do your mighty work in this world. I open my mind, soul and life to you and embrace your call on my life, as you continue the good work you began in me. I am yours. Amen.