Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: – Philippians 1:6
We have been blessed to live in our home for many years now. When we purchased our home, it was in foreclosure and had been sitting vacant for a year and a half. We knew much work would be ahead of us. Right away, we replaced the carpets, added fresh paint to the walls, and replaced all 150 light switch covers! I am exaggerating about the light covers, but it certainly seemed as though we replaced that many covers. Throughout the years, we have made repairs and updates to our home. Some repairs were necessary while others helped to update our home and make it look less like something from the 1990s.
I can recall one year that our overworked air conditioner completely died. It was not just a compressor that had quit, as it had been the previous few times, but the entire unit. I just so happened to be thirty-eight weeks pregnant with my youngest son, and it was 95 degrees in the house. It was the middle of July in Florida. I was not a happy wife and was willing to pay anything to get our air conditioning replaced. That was a necessary repair.
We have replaced our windows, siding, roof, and fences and have even knocked down a wall. This was not done all at one time, thankfully, but throughout the years. I could list more repairs that were needed, but those are the bigger repairs that were done. Having a home is work. Eventually, repairs are needed. Some of the repairs were done by my wonderful husband who apparently knows how to repair most things, but there have been times when we have called the professionals to complete the repairs needed.
Just as a home needs repairs and maintenance, our hearts do as well. Once we are saved, the Holy Spirit begins to work on us, and He sees what needs to be repaired and updated. We have a choice to make: either we can try to fix ourselves, or we can let Him work in our hearts to change us into something beautiful that He can use. When we make a statement under our breaths that we later regret, He is still working on us. When we make a mistake and act by emotion instead of principle, He is still working on us. When we think we have had a bad day and are not sure how we are going to get through tomorrow, He is still working on us.
During those home repairs, there were many times when we grew tired and wanted to give up. Some things seemed difficult to mend. God never wants to stop His job; He continues to work on us and make us into what He wants. Just because we fail does not mean God stops working. Just because we give up on ourselves does not mean God stops working. The above verse says, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: We will never be perfect until we get to Heaven. The work He starts as soon as we get saved will continue until we are in Heaven with Him. In good times and in tough times, God is working on us continuously.
As a child, I would sing a particular Sunday school song while thinking its meaning was silly and only for children. That song which may be familiar to most says, “He’s still working on me…” Now that I am older, those words are more real to me and are so very true. Our Saviour is never done molding, repairing, and improving us because we are His precious children. He is still working on us!
by Mandy Harper
