Monday 3/6/2012 4:59 AM
This is the opening prayer of my devotional materials this week: “I come before you, my God, in all of my weakness seeking your strength. Though I am far from the model you set before my eyes, one day I will see you – and upon that seeing, I will become like you. O glorious anticipation!”
One advantage of getting older is that I can look back on my life and see some progress toward sanctification. The rough edges and brash opinions of youth have been sanded and tempered over time making me more loving and compassionate and less judgmental. One disadvantage of getting older is that, in spite of the progress toward sanctification, I realize that I have an even longer path ahead than I had previously thought. Sin that I thought was only skin deep and could be dealt with through cosmetic surgery is now seen for what it is, a systemic problem that affects every area of my life. Treatment requires more than the removal of a bad habit from my life, it requires a change deep within my heart in places of which I am unaware. This can be discouraging at times because just when I think an unwanted area of my life has been removed I see another area that needs work.
Thankfully, the sanctification process is not my responsibility. It is God’s. And he doesn’t give up but he continually shapes and molds throughout my lifetime. I would do well to heed the advice of David in the last verse of Psalm 27, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
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