When I came to faith in Christ, I was crystal clear on the fact that the whole thing was 100% Christ and 0% me. That was salvation — a one-time event.

But then came the rest of the story, called sanctification, and for some inexplicable reason, I thought that part was mostly up to me.

Early in my Christian life, I thought I was ready for service right away and, several major mistakes later, came to realize my spiritual immaturity.

We are His workmanship and like mud on a potter’s wheel, our job is to let the Potter do His job without grumbling or interfering — and that takes time.

No Preparation = No Growth

The missing ingredient in my hurried Christian life after salvation, was the time needed for preparation by the Holy Spirit.

Every gardener knows that you must break up the ground (often violently) before planting seed. Otherwise, no lasting root formation, no fruit at harvest.

I was exposed to truckloads of truth, but without God’s gracious preparatory work in my heart, those truths just rattled around in my brain and never penetrated my heart. Sound familiar?

Time + God’s Work = Lasting Growth

Paradoxically, the “tools” God uses to break up the hard soil of our hearts are personal needs. We often look at these as signs of weakness, and in the way of “getting on with it.”

God sees things very differently.

God develops His children by allowing personal needs to drive us away from self-dependence and toward Christ-dependence.

Until then, we will believe we’re “doing just fine” on our own. Without these, “uncomfortable” personal needs, we will never grow.

In Matthew 5:6, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

In a way, this answers the age-old question of why “bad things sometimes happen to good people.” From God’s perspective, it is often the only way to get our undivided attention.

Remember God is preparing Heaven-ready “iron saints,” not pampered snowflakes who expect to be ushered into glory on a bed of ease.

Of all God’s promises, the following passage — Philippians 1:6 and Philippians 2:12-13 — shines brightly, considering the wild swings most Christians frequently encounter in their walk with Jesus:

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.”

What an incredible comfort it is to know that we have a part to play and so does God in our sanctification. He is as interested in our spiritual maturity as we are.

We know our salvation has nothing to do with works, but our sanctification involves consistent efforts on our part to fulfill our destinies as His saints.

As Ephesians 2:10 reminds us: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Don’t be discouraged, God knows what He’s doing.

Several years ago, I embarked on the thankless task of converting an old 1960s house into a more modern, attractive ranch-style home. This started with extensive demolishing, cleaning up and foundation work before building could even begin.

I had the plan on paper and in my head but anyone walking by would have seen it as an awful mess.

This is how it often feels in the preparatory stages of the Christian life, and it can often be stressful and discouraging.

And only God has the plan for us in His head and He’s not sharing it with anyone, least of all, you and me.

A Most-Worthy Mission

In his book, The Complete Green Letters, Christian author Miles Stanford writes, “Without a bitter experience of their own inadequacy and poverty (we) are quite unfitted to bear the burden of spiritual ministry. It takes a man who has discovered something of the measures of his own weakness to be patient with the foibles of others. Such a man also has a firsthand knowledge of the loving care of the Chief Shepherd, and His ability to heal one who has come humbly to trust in Him and Him alone.”

How About You?

Anxious to serve God? Wonderful. Just keep in mind that you are His workmanship for works that God has prepared beforehand.

Remember, you belong to God, not the other way around.

As shared in 1 Corinthians 6:20: “For you have been bought for a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.”

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