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Power Point:
The results of
endurance and steadfastness and patience are perfectly wonderful aren't
they? We become a people perfectly and
fully developed-how awesome is that?!
But to get to verse 5, it is necessary to live out verses 2-4. We only need endurance and steadfastness and
patience when we are enveloped in trials. We need those qualities to be able to look at
a trial with joy, and perfect faith in our hearts, and on our minds.
When I was in the eighth grade, I was part of
a 4H club. Our principal was the leader
and our project for the year was photography. I had a little brownie camera and
I knew that when i took a picture all I had to do was take the film to the
drugstore to be developed. Imagine my
surprise when my fearless leader decided that my project would be a
self-portrait. He had taken pity on my
ineptness and took a photo of me and then we went to his home and developed the
negatives. I remember being surprised at
placing the negative in the developing solution and watching as it turned into
a picture. Mr. Nixon carefully moved the photo paper back and forth and bit by
bit I saw myself looking back at me. At the perfect time, he took the photo out and
hung it up to dry.
Beloved, we all have
dark places at times and the thing we need to remember is that Jesus is in that
dark room with us. He has the
negative of the print that He is developing in our life. He knows just how long to keep it in the
developing solution and He is very intent on that negative because He knows exactly what is supposed to develop from it. If He removes it too early, He will spoil the picture. During the time the process is going on, there is a red light alert outside the door that tells people to STAY OUT! If someone opens that door too early, the final product will be ruined. At the perfect time, and not a moment before, He will remove it and then and only then can you see what HE saw when He
took the picture. He always turns the negative into a positive.
Jesus has an image, a plan and a purpose for
you. He sees you differently and He
sees your situation differently than you do or anyone else does. That's why it is so important to ask Him to
show You what He sees
so that you can agree with Him and capture that picture on the inside of you.
I was talking to
my daughter yesterday about a difficult situation we are facing. What came out of my mouth was, "It is
what it is, but it's not what it WILL be!" That's exactly what God says to us
continually. The facts (the negatives) are what
"is" but they are not what they will be after the Truth develops them.
The image that God has of you is the image He
wants you to have too. That's why He is
busy in the darkroom, the dark places, developing that image. Soon, He will
decide that it's perfect and He will lift the image from the developing
solution and hang it up. Then you will be able to see clearly what He saw at
the beginning and carefully created.
Beloved, we can look
at ourselves and we can look at others and only see negatives. That only means that Jesus is not finished
with us yet. We are still developing, as
are they. We haven't spent quite enough
time in the darkroom with the Master Photographer who is quite intent on
developing His perfect image in us. As we endure through the developing phase;
as we stand fast on His promises of a flourishing finish, and as we patiently
wait for the Perfect Image to develop, we become strong in areas where we were
weak. We have faith where before we had
doubt. We grow up in all things in
Jesus. Ultimately the negatives lead us
to wholeness if we trust Jesus to develop them into a good thing-which He
promises us in Romans 8:28:
"We are assured and KNOW that all things work together
and are fitting into a plan for good for those who love God and are called
according to His design and purpose."
Is that you? Well, no
worries then! He's the Master Developer, and He knows just how long to leave you in
the developing solution. You're on your way to seeing what He's seen in you all
along.
By the way, I got a blue ribbon for my portrait-mostly because I let the one who knew what he was doing-do the work!
By the way, I got a blue ribbon for my portrait-mostly because I let the one who knew what he was doing-do the work!
Power Thought:
Lewis F. Korns
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