We are all Works in Progress, Mama.

Tonight we will talk about how God is not done with us as mamas. We are all works in progress just like our little ones. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I think we have a lot of grace in understanding that our children are a work in progress, but do we realize that we are also a work in progress too, Mama? We're gonna talk about that tonight on midlight. I was thinking about this concept today that we are all a work in progress and that God is not done with us yet. And yet we expect to have all the answers. We expect to be perfected, but we are not perfected yet as mamas. We don't expect our babies or our children to be perfect at much of anything. We recognize and understand that they are learning. Well, I think it's important to remember for us mamas and to give grace to ourselves as we recognize and understand that it's also our first time on earth. I've been thinking about this verse from Philippians 1 6, and it says, and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And this was written by Paul while he was in prison and he was thinking about the church in Philippi. He was encouraging them that their faith journey wasn't over, and that God is committed to finishing the work that He started in them. And I think about this in terms of us as mamas in the middle of balancing our lives and nursing and making bottles and taking care of our families. And I think about this: that our job is to be obedient and faithful to what God calls us to do, but He is the one who does the heavy lifting within our hearts and our lives, as long as we are obedient to Him. And I think about the peace that that brings me as a woman and as a mama, that God will be the one to complete the work. And it really is about sanctification and God making us each day to be more like Him. Because we know that His character is faithful, we know that He is good, we know that He He doesn't give up on us, but He keeps working with us as we are becoming more and more the mama and the woman that He has called us to be for our families. So I know that God's character can be revealed more in me as I pay attention to what His character looks like. And I think one of the things I love the most about understanding God's character is I understand that His desire as God is to not allow me to carry the burden of all the things I need to finish on my own. He is with me as I am working on the things that I need to do and the things that I need to finish as a mama because so much of our lives as mamas can feel like they're incomplete work and we are still behind in different places. But the Lord says, Come to me, and I will be the one to help you when you feel like things are left behind, undone, a mess, and I will give you all you need for your life today and for godliness. And we know that God is with us, and sometimes it's just to remind us that we are doing a great work and it's heavy and it's incomplete at times, but God is with us and He will give us all the energy, all the things that we need to do what we are called to do as mamas. I was talking to a precious friend of mine today, and we were talking about the different things that we have gone through in the last couple of years as we have been so close as friends and also have walked through really hard things as mamas. We often refer to motherhood as the trenches right now with little ones, and this verse really stood out to both of us today, and I wanted to share it with you tonight, mamas. It's found in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7, and it starts like this but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. And I want to break this down for us a little bit so that we can understand exactly what this verse is telling us. And it starts in verse 7 when it says, treasure in jars of clay. The treasure, it's the gospel, it's the light of knowledge of God's glory in Christ, and we are the ordinary fragile jars of clay, like simple pottery that can break easily. And this contrast shows that any power or impact in our lives comes from God, not our own strength, and it keeps us humble and points us to Him. And in these verses, through eight through nine, Paul lists the real hardships, being afflicted, being perplexed, being persecuted, being struck down. But then he shows God's sustaining grace. We may be afflicted, but we're not crushed. We may be perplexed, but we're not driven to despair. We may be persecuted, but we are not forsaken. And we may be struck down, but we're not destroyed. And these are honest things about suffering while full of hope. And our suffering in verses 10 through 11, where it says death and life of Jesus, our suffering allows the death of Jesus, which was his sacrifice and his humility, and the life of Jesus, which is the resurrection and power that can be visible in us. These are the hard things we grow through to make Christ's power and hope shine more clearly to others. So Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church that weakness is not a problem. It's actually the very place where God's power shows up the most clearly. And our bodies are like fragile containers, but that's intentional so that God can get the glory. So what that looks like for us as mamas is on our tired and messy days when the pressures of motherhood are getting to us, these are the jars of clay. But God's power shines the brightest there in our lives, mama, because our perseverance as moms and our quiet faithfulness at night and our prayers in the dark, all of this displays Jesus' life in our life to our children and others. So remember, Philippians 1 6, that God completes the work that he started. Together we can remember that we're fragile, but we're held, and we can be weak at times, but he empowers us. So, mamas, tonight, I hope this helps you to take from it the understanding that you are still a work in progress. God is not done with you as a mama, he's not gonna give up on you, and he's gonna shine in those places where you feel you are weak and you are tired. And just remember that there's no expectation of perfection, there's just the need to be obedient and faithful. So, mamas, tonight I want to leave you with a blessing from number six, twenty-four through twenty six. May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace. Amen. Until next time, mamas, remember, we're all a work in progress. And we'll talk again soon. Take care, mamas.