The Miracle Of Being Changed

It is amazing to me how things change over time. Many of the things we cannot change on the spot seem to change over time with no effort at all. For instance, when I was a child, I used to be skinny. Let me go back and emphasize 3 words...."used to be". My Granddaddy Hutto would say to me often, "If you don't eat more, you're going to dry up and blow away." Even as a child, I didn't really believe I would dry up and blow away. However I did get Granddaddy's point. My older sister Kathie called me "Bean Pole". The thing was, I didn't like to eat, because I just didn't like food. The only foods I really liked were sweets. As a matter of fact, candy was real food to me.

Something happened to me over time. As the years went by, my taste changed. Therefore my waste size changed proportionally. By the time I graduated from High School, I could eat about anything...and a whole bunch of it. You might even say I loved food. The timing was phenomenal because I married the world's greatest cook.

Once married to Connie I was introduced to a whole new world of cooking. I bolted into this new world of foods, and the scales confirmed it. I went from eating to live...to...living to eat. They say you have this little switch in you that should turn off when you're full. When I was a young child, it never turned on. When I was a teenager it would never turn off! As a young adult I would literally eat until I physically could not hold any more. Did I mention the bathroom scales confirmed it? Somewhere, along the line, I changed. It didn't happen overnight, however.

As a follower of Jesus Christ my life has changed drastically and dramatically. But it didn't all happen overnight. Some of those changes took place over time. And some of those changes are currently works in progress. I like what Paul said in Philippians 1: 6. "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect (complete, finish) it until the day of Christ Jesus." This is an incredible verse! Know why? Because it says even though I follow after Jesus I am not perfect. However, even though I am not perfect, Jesus is in the process of perfecting or completing me! He does much of it through time as I follow after Him. He works in you and me by the presence of His Spirit; and He will continue to do so until either we go to be with Him, or He comes back for us all.

I can look back at the first days of my walk with Jesus, way back in 1978. I am well aware of those changes He immediately effected the instant I surrendered my life to Him. And I can also see the ways He has changed me over time, one day at a time, through the presence of His Spirit who indwells me.

As a follower of Christ we must daily do our part in becoming like Him. We have His Word as our blueprint for life. We should faithfully study, learn and apply the Word in our daily walk with Him. We must daily avail ourselves to Him in prayer, praise, and worship. This produces the miracle of His working in you and me 24 X 7. The bottom line is that He is changing you and me as time goes on.

Don't be discouraged at the struggles you have yet to master. Keep them before God and allow Him to work in you as He works on you. Don't run from Him. Run to Him. Grace is a powerful thing. Even though we see our own short-comings, God's grace (according to the Bible) is always sufficient for our every struggle and need. It's grace that causes the power of God to manifest in our weaknesses. Jesus said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Grace not only dealt with our sins, but the same grace, lavished on you and me, covers all our weaknesses. He accepts us, as we are, so He can change us into who and what He's created us to be.