Pieces, Part 2

One of my favorite aspects of celebrating Christmas and the new year is the chance to pause and think. The end of December brings the final snapshot of a year soon past that is ripe for reflection – especially on God’s work in our lives over the year ending, and to anticipate what He has for us in the upcoming year.

One area I’ve been mulling is seeing God answer requests this year about goals that I started giving Him a few years ago. I was not really sure how or when He would accomplish them, but I understood that He was capable of doing so and, if He willed, would show me another way. As I made the requests known to Him, I also started working on aspects of those goals as I had the opportunity. Piece by piece, God multiplied those efforts – even in ways that I didn’t completely notice at first. Now, as God has shown me the full picture, I am so amazed at His power – and how He’s grown me spiritually in the process.

Seeing God work so directly in my life, this year in particular, reminds me that His goal – even in responding to our requests – is to make us more like Him, not just meet a need. So often when we ask God for things we’re focused only on Him taking care of that physical aspect. But He’s interested in using even our requests as a process for cultivating our character, developing those traits of spiritual “fruit” that make us more like Him: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self control.

For example, when we asked God for that car, we probably had no idea that He would teach us patience in the process. When we requested He help us overcome sorrow over the death of someone close to us, we didn’t know He would use it to give us a better understanding of what it means to be joyful. When we asked Him to provide us a new job, we never thought He would teach us kindness and faith along the way. That’s our God!

Understanding God’s heart in responding to our requests should not only make us more likely to accept His answer even when it may not be what we expect, but also to give Him our petitions without design or reservation. I John 5:14-15 says:

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

We have a God who listens to us – and loves to bless His children. Yet we define blessing very physically; He defines it in much greater terms. We see only a snapshot – a piece – of any situation; He knows all. When we learn to seek His will in giving Him our requests, we gain so much more than we ever could ask or imagine.

As we celebrate The Ultimate Gift this week, and experience the start of a new year the following one–I am thankful for how God uses our time with Him to cultivate in us more of His character and His ways. And heralding in another year is a wonderful reminder that He’s not done with us yet.