For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10

Every once in a while, I start thinking about how far I’ve come as a follower of Jesus. When I think about how much my heart has changed, sometimes I forget to give Him all the glory. I forget that He and He alone is the author and finisher of my faith. I don’t think I voice it out loud, but I begin to think of the hours and hours of Bible study, prayer, listening to sermons, books I’ve read, and something in me takes credit for the great work God has done. It is precisely in these moments, when I lose this spirit of thankfulness, something usually happens to remind me of just how far I have left to go in my journey to Celestial City.

This past week, I seriously released a lot of anger and frustration out on a kid. He said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and I went to war. That situation resolved itself fairly quickly, so I never thought again about that monster that rose up within me. Then, a much more subtle thing happened. I went to pick up some food at a restaurant. When I was leaving, I was the only car parked in an entire row of spaces. There were at least 10 other spaces.   More importantly, there were at least 8 other spaces not next to me. While I’m walking to my vehicle, where does this couple decide to park? They park right next to me on the driver’s side. So, I force a smile and wait while they get out of their car. I wait for them to get out of the way so I can back out. This seriously aggravated me.

As I drove home, I wondered what in the world was wrong with me. Have I seriously regressed so much that I can’t take a kid’s smart mouth? Since when did I become so important that I did not have the patience to wait 45 seconds? I think God allows these moments in me to keep me from being prideful. I sit here this morning really thankful for these moments, for without them, I know I would start depending on my efforts instead of depending on Him and what He has already done.

He’s still working on me

To make me what I ought to be

It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars

The sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be

He’s still working on me. – Joel Hemphill

Later

Adam