THE BIG REVEAL!

It has been a while, almost 2 months to be exact, that I have written on my blog.  I didn't just disappear off the face of the earth, but the Lord had me in a place where He could work on me.  We all need that from time to time, especially me!  In God's graciousness, He has "removed the veil" so that I could see who I am, and worked on "transforming me into His image" (2Cor.3:18).   I have put a lot of thought into how I might describe this journey I have been on.  Hopefully, today's post will encourage you, as the Lord has encouraged me.

I am a sucker for "all things Makeover", especially television shows that are about makeovers.  It can be anything from being made over for a wedding, bad wardrobe decisions, to home makeovers.  I just love them!  (I mean doesn't your heart beat faster as you watch the crying family say, "Mooovve that bussss!!!!"??!?!?!? : )  

These shows normally start out by showing you the thing or person that is in desperate need of a makeover.  Generally, those of us on the other side of the screen are in total agreeance.  (I know you never think someone needs a makeover! You are too sweet for that!)  I get drawn in when they begin telling the story behind the people that are getting the makeover or own the house being remodeled. (You know, the one that makes you cry, but if someone asks, you act like you got something in your eye!) Then, the rest of the time is spent showing the process it takes to get to the final product, which you only get to see at the very end for a minute or two....AND THAT'S MY FAVORITE PART! 

When I watch these shows I start out really excited to see what is to come, but after a while, my mind starts drifting.  I find myself flipping through the channels until I know it is time for the "Big Reveal", and hurry to get back to the right channel.  Personally, I think I would just like to skip seeing the whole process.  Maybe I would enjoy it more if I saw a little less of the process, and a lot more of the finished makeover.  What about you???  Are you with me?

That is how many of us are about real life.  I admit it.  I AM! 

As Christians, we are in a constant state of being "made over" by the Holy Spirit.  Salvation is the moment where we are invited to be a part of the Greatest Makeover EVER!  (We are dead in Sin, and then made alive in Christ. We were slaves made into children and heirs...no other makeover can boast that!)  The trials we face and the journeys the Lord allows us to walk through, is the process.  It is the longest part.  The "Big Reveal" does not come until the end of our life when we see that through the process God has made us in to His image. 

Sometimes, I wish I could skip the long process and just get to the new me.  The me that is the best me I can be to serve my Savior, Jesus Christ!  The me who doesn't doubt God's ways and never lacks faith.  The me that ALWAYS loves others unconditionally.  The me who can discern things for what they really are and not what they appear to be.  The me who ALWAYS faces trials with a joy, peace, and hope that is absolutely unshakeable.  That me sounds really good! 

At 33 years old, I feel like I have a ways to go yet through the process of God making me into the me I described above, but I am encouraged by Philippians 1:6 that says, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  There is still hope for me because He's going to keep working on me until He has made me who He created me to be!
 
Who really wants to go through hard things in life?  Who really wants to face grief, disappointment, doubt, sickness, and so on?  Who wants someone to point out our faults, bad characteristics, or sins to be dealt with?  I doubt you raised your hand.  I didn't.  My first instinct is to say, "NOT ME!", but in order for the Lord to bring about the "Big Reveal" in our lives, He must reconstruct our hearts.  The process is vital to who we will become for the Kingdom of God.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone

and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

The Holy Spirit sometimes has to rip out a few walls, change up the floor plan, and paint the walls of our heart a different color!  It can take longer than you think sometimes, and it will probably hurt at times.  It will be most humbling as the Lord shows you who you really are because it does not always line up with who you think you have been.  If we will allow ourselves to be patient and willing to go through the process, the story of the process will be just as valuable to us as the "Big Reveal!"

 
No matter what we face we must remember that it is all a part of God's greater plan to make us the Man or Woman of God that He would have us to be.  Our Creator uses the good, the bad, and the ugly of this life to work an extreme makeover in our hearts, and I look forward to seeing the "Big Reveal" of what God works in you and me!  : )