We had a hard rain a few days ago, and while driving through a new subdivision near our home, I saw dirt and clay from earth movers as they shaped new streets and lots. Trucks delivering materials left muddy tracks on the streets. Construction sites were littered with dumpsters filled with lumber, paper, rocks and all sorts of trash, so it was quite a mess. Even the newly started houses looked ugly with their insides exposed as they were being framed together.
Yet this mess is necessary to have a finished product. When completed, those homes will be beautiful. New landscaping will make them look as if they are pictures in a home design magazine. Everything will be clean and neat for the new homeowners when they move in. During construction, however, the mess seems unmanageable, and we can't wait for it to end.
Our walk with God can be much the same. In life we must occasionally go through a messy period of confusion or disharmony. It is in those times that God is building a new part of life for us. He might be removing some old boards in our lives and replacing them with new ones. He might be adding another room. He might even be changing the shape of our lives altogether. But unless a messy time takes place, we will never see the new and improved version.
The Lord’s goal is for us to become more like Himself. To achieve a change for the better will require removing all that is not from Him. It can be a painful and messy process, but in the end it will be worth it.
If God is allowing a mixed-up period in your life right now, just remember this time may be necessary in order to ensure something better for you. Like one woman said, “I embrace the mess!” You don’t have to like it or revel in it, but you can accept it and not consider it a tragedy. It's up to us to learn from what is happening in these times so that we might see the fulfillment of His purposes.
“My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2)
Embrace the mess, and then expect wonderful things to emerge from it.
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