Some art work baffles me. I think they call it abstract: a wash of color over here, an eyeball over there, half an arm off somewhere in the corner. I’m not sure I’d call that a picture. It’s more like someone got mad and threw a fit with their water colors . . . or decided their two-year-old’s handiwork was worthy of being hung in the gallery. I think I’d prefer something a little more complete.
As creative as people try to be, they can’t quite match up with the art work that God starts . . . and finishes. Unlike some discouraged artists, He didn’t end Creation on day four just because He got tired or frustrated. He didn’t get discouraged because the hippopotami and duckbilled platypuses weren’t cooperating. He completed His work with excellence and declared that it was all “good.” (Genesis 1:31; 2:1-3)
The plan of salvation was a complete work as well. Jesus didn’t abort when faced with death. He plowed through His assignment because He saw the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2), and when hanging on the cross, He completed it all by saying, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
The great work of Creation and redemption weren’t the only things that God was interested in completing. Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ . . .” How amazing! Like all the other great projects He began, He started a good work in each one of us!
When God began to create our lives, He wasn’t an abstract painter who threw up random images, hoping that someone would have the creativity to fill in the gaps. He painstakingly planned out every inch of our “picture” in vivid detail. Not one element was missing or forgotten. Not one body part, background, or setting was left undone. It was a good work . . . and He loved it so much that He chose to complete it.
When we face frustrations and discouragement in our lives, it’s easy to think that the Artist who began our painting God bored with His work and walked away. We look at our lives and think, “Hey, you forgot the nose, God! Wait, wasn’t there supposed to be some sunshine in this picture?” The devil would love for you to get caught up in thoughts like that, but the truth is that God never starts something without the passion to finish it. Our lives are valuable to Him – so valuable that He’ll complete His promises to us. It’s not dependent on what goes on around us or on how we feel. It’s totally dependent on our trust in Him to do exactly what He said He would do. We can be “confident” because He is faithful to complete the big picture.
“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”
I Thessalonians 5:24
Christa Madrid 