Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
If you didn’t get a chance, go back and read my devotional of conquering a Sharpie marker, otherwise you won’t have context for these life lessons!
There are three biblical principles for my own life I’m drawing from conquering the Sharpie marker I told you about last week:
1) Reaping the harvest we want (i.e., desired results in areas of our lives) depends on how much we are willing to work for it and persevere in the face of no guarantees that any of our work is actually working. If the work we are doing is good, we must have faith that it will be fruitful given enough time and effort; no good work is wasted despite lack of recognition or appreciation. I may not win any awards for “most sparkly door” nor will most people who didn’t know about the marks in the first place even realize what a labor of love was given to this task or that it was necessary in the first place, but I am proud of my persistence and that I was able to make a difference in the appearance of something that was pestering me.
2) It’s success in the little things that pave the way for us to have success in the big things! I know many people would say, “Whoopie, you removed some marker from the door…it’s not like you solved the issue of world peace or anything.” True, this task wasn’t a world changer, but going through the process changed me. If I wouldn’t have persisted in this tiny, insignificant matter I guarantee you I would continue to cave to resistance in a bigger matter with ease. This little situation was a test of my character to see if I would keep working and going in something I believed in, regardless of whether it appeared to be working. Every time I have a challenge like this, it is pruning and training my character. This is a lesson I have been working through in my life for quite some time; for example, as I have tried to lose weight in the past I would do everything right (i.e., give one pass of the dry-erase marker to my weight issue) and when I didn’t see immediate results of my hard work I would get discouraged and quit. Over and over. But God has been working on me in little ways like this, and conquering the Sharpie is a shadow of one of the biggest character hurdles I have in my life that I am working to overcome. If I can do it with a Sharpie, I have a chance to do it with the big, glaring issues in my life. But only if I am faithful in the small, will I ever have a chance to be faithful in the big.
3) There are areas in my life that are like those blemishes; they seem to be permanent and resistant to change. The truth of God’s word is like that dry-erase marker; one swipe isn’t enough to blot those things out (not talking about sin here; Jesus’ blood was the ultimate cleaning solution that permanently erased my sin, Hallelujah!). I am saved, but I will continue to be sanctified as I work out my salvation, and God is trying to mold and polish me into the godly person He desires me to be. He does have to attend to those imperfections in my character, attitude, habits and behaviors, and He does so gently over time and with multiple applications of His truth and wisdom. And He neither fails us, nor gives up on us. He is faithful to continue to work at the hard spots of our lives because they pester Him. He sees us as we ought to be, a sparkly door for His grace and love to get into the world, and He’s not about to let some pesky, seemingly permanent marker deface us forever. And as long as we persist in allowing Him to have His way with us (as He over and over applies His truth and the correction of the Holy Spirit to our situations) those spots and streaks will eventually begin to fade and disappear from sight. Even the most unsightly, unseemly parts of us can be smoothed out and removed with the Master Cleaner’s hand.
Thank you, Lord, for allowing the most mundane tasks of our lives to be the avenue You choose most often to help us to understand the deep spiritual lessons You desire to teach us. Your still, small voice catches us right where we are and breathes life into us in ways we may never fully understand. You are an amazing God!