Sometimes it is Good that Progress is Slow

Sometimes progress in the faith can seem slow. Sometimes I will think about my current condition and just beg God that He would make me better. When I survey a couple years and see that not much has happened it makes me sad. I wish I was a better man and I wish I could be more godly in a hurry.

But, on the other hand I am so grateful that the process is at times slow and steady. I have changed quite a bit in the past few years. Thankfully, I have been changing from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). Hopefully, other people can see my progress in the faith (1 Timothy 4:15). And all of this to the glory of Jesus. The transformation is taking place. The sanctification is happening one day at a time and God is pruning one thing at a time.

I am thankful that it comes at me gradually... It is a process and pruning isn't the most pleasant experience I have went through. The refining fire is really hot. The impurities are resilient to the heat and they don't go easy. And, to be honest, if I knew what I was signing up for I probably wouldn't have been so thrilled at first. If I knew the changes that God had in store for me and the humility it would take, I probably would have shied away. I probably would have done something else that would have accentuated my skills and stroked my ego. Being a sold out Christ follower doesn't allow for those things. That is why this morning I say, "thank you God that it is slow." Thank God that He is working on you and the pace isn't so break neck that you can't handle it. Thank God that He is a patient potter that slowly crafts on His vessel. Because when after many many periods of time, after much reshaping and sculpting, and after the heat of the oven gives permanence to His work, you will be ready... to see His Glory.