I was having coffee with a group of friends this past week, one of whom is an amazing seamstress and quilter. Despite my super-knitter mom’s best efforts, I never really got the hang of knitting – or any other craft, for that matter!
But I have lots of admiration for those who do. This friend falls into that category because she does amazing work. As a result, she is often asked to do alterations for others.
Such was the case with a recent project she had taken on. It wasn’t a simple rehemming job. Oh no, this was a delicate undertaking which required the elimination of some gaps in the dress so that it would fit more snugly. Add to that, the fact that the fabric was silk. Even I know that makes everything trickier!
So as my friend was contemplating how best to address this issue, God dropped a suggestion into her thoughts. That’s right. God knows how to sew, too! The simple fold that she tried next was the perfect solution for this particular dress alteration.
We were all duly impressed with this cool intervention by God, especially in a situation that we wouldn’t normally think to look for him. But I smile to think, once again, how God is absolutely in the details of our lives in such a personal way.
Within a few moments, we had made the transition from dress alterations to the “alterations” God does in our lives. And voila, a blog post was born!
I’ve written often about the process of sanctification in the life of a believer. In short, it means “set apart.” Practically speaking, it is the progressive work of God to make a believer more like Jesus.
Let’s look at a few simple similarities between this dress alteration, and the “alterations” God puts us through.
- The beginning “product” (the dress or US) has some gaping holes in it. Clearly things don’t fit the picture of what they’re supposed to be.
- Sometimes the process takes a few pins and needles to get the finished result. In the same way, sanctification is often uncomfortable or even painful as God takes us through circumstances where we ultimately emerge with a deeper, more correct understanding of who God wants us to be.
- If our response to God’s guiding hand is similar to silk, i.e. slippery, we will resist any of his attempts to change us.
- When we submit our will to the Master’s, the end result is a covering that fits more beautifully. And ultimately, at the end of this life, one of perfection.
Permit me a short rabbit trail here. One of the ladies in the group had commented on how I came up with a blog title, week after week. I’ve said for years that God is the one that drops those ideas into my head, much like the alteration help he gave our seamstress friend. I told her, “You just witnessed how God does it!”
What’s important here, is that we take a moment to think about how we react to the times we sense God wanting to make us more like Jesus. Are we immediately obedient, or do we pretend we haven’t heard God’s voice? Do we simply bemoan whatever trial or tragedy has befallen us, or do we look to see how God will use that make us more like him?
Opportunities for God to work in our lives are all around us. He desires to shape and mold us through the good times and the bad, through the minutiae of our lives and the big moments.
Learn to trust the ever-kind hand and heart of God as he equips you to be a beautiful vessel of his love.
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,
he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy,
useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
2 Timothy 2:21