WE CAN NEVER FINISH ANYTHING THAT WE NEVER START

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
(John 19:30)

MEDITATION:
In the Old Testament, the priest would enter the temple
to minister, burn incense, and to offer prayer and sacrifices.
But, there was one piece of furniture that was not in the Holy of Holies
and that was a chair for the priest to sit upon.
Why? Because his work was never finished.

But when Jesus bowed His head upon the cross and cried out,
“It is finished!”, He was finished with His work and He sat down
at the right hand of God, the Father.

When Jesus was just a boy, His number one priority
was to follow the path created for Him by God the Father.
When his parents thought He had been lost and found Him
in the temple, He told them of His priority.
And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know
that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49)

He was committed to pleasing the Father
and spent His entire time on earth fulfilling that goal.
It was not a goal created by Himself, but one established by the Father.
He remained on earth until He “finished” His Father’s work.

ACTION:
When we surrender our lives to the Lord, we are given a “work” to complete.
The question we have to ask ourselves is,
“Am I willing to be about my Father’s business?”
No doubt it will require changes, but if we are to “finish” His work,
we have to make significant changes which are motivated
by our faith, trust, and dependence on Him.

Some will partially commit in some areas, but balk at committing in others.
Why?
Because our selfishness and self-centeredness cause us to distrust God’s promises.
When He tells us to exchange our desires for His desires, we have to trust Him.
If He tells us to return to Him a portion of what He has given us,
then we need to believe that when we do, we will be blessed.

Satan wants to instill in us a desire to hold on to
and grip tightly certain things that we feel belong to us.
But when we have a good relationship with God,
we know that everything comes from Him
and is “on loan” to us while we are “about His business”.

What is preventing you from “being about the Father’s business”?
Is it pride, selfishness, rebellion, sin, or something else?
We can never expect to enjoy His blessings
as long as we fail to follow the path He has created for us.
The things that are preventing us from following His Will for our lives
will only increase the more we “dig in our heels”
and refuse to show our faith and trust in Him.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for ignoring or refusing to follow the
path You have chosen for me. Thank You for blessing me and for the
special gifts You have given me to be used in serving You. Help me
to start actively using my gifts to be about Your business. And when
I do, I pray that You will encourage me by showing me new blessings
and allowing me to see the positive impact my life can have on others.
Help me to be an encourager and not a discourager, to look for the good
in others instead of trying to find their flaws, to compliment others on
their good qualities rather than reminding them of their faults, to pray
for others instead of gossiping about them, etc. Renew my mind so that
I will be able to finish the work You have given me. Thank You for
considering me as an integral part of Your plan!”

blog: UTVOLWOODY.WORDPRESS.COM