Getting to hear Pastor Anita preach to us again last Sunday was such a treat! Her sermons are always packed full of information and are overflowing with life.
One of the biggest takeaways for me was the reminder that none of the big transformations we long for, or the breakthroughs we pray for, happen instantly. They take time.
That doesn’t mean they will never happen quickly or that changes can’t take place miraculously. Of course that is possible! Especially when we remember Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel who told her that, although she was a virgin, she would give birth to the son of God.
“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Luke 1:37
I’ve found that remembering something as simple as “all good things take time” can begin to create space for me to breathe and for the Spirit of God to work. There is no rush or panic for me to be made perfect. My friends and family might like me to be a new and improved version of myself at times… I might become impatient with my own refinement too. But, at the end of the day, there is no panic when God is the One doing the refining.
Pastor Anita was reminding us that if we have believed certain lies for a long time (some of us have believed certain things since we were young children!!) then of course they will take time to be corrected. We can’t expect to correct in one day what took decades to develop in our minds.
Honestly, I’m not sure who this is for… I’m not even sure it’s for anyone else apart from myself… but my hope for each of us today, is that we might remember we are all works in progress.
Not just for the sake of making ourselves feel better about the fact we’re imperfect and falling short a lot of the time… Rather, to encourage our heart, mind, body and spirit that God is working to redeem all things.
We do have access to the truths and promises God speaks over us in the Bible.
We can be changed and transformed by the renewing of our minds.
And even though it will take time, sometimes much longer than we might like, as we continue to press on and lean into God, we are becoming more and more like his son, Jesus.
So take heart, Lifespring!
We are all on this journey of having our minds transformed together!
And it is okay for it to take a while.
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6