By Randy Bailey

January 8, 2007

 

My wife has wanted me to put some stone tile around our garden tub in the master bedroom, so I decided this would be the weekend I would get it done for her. We went to our neighborhood home improvement store on Saturday morning and picked out the tile and some matching grout. After measuring the tub to find the center of the wall, I began applying the adhesive to the wall and started the first row. 

 

One Long Saturday . . .
It was a long five hours on my knees, but I was determined to get all the tiles in place so I could apply the grout on Sunday after we got home from church. I have to admit that the stone looked great on the walls, and I was happy with the way it was shaping up.

I grabbed all my tools and prepared to finish the project. I was a little nervous about the application of the grout because I had bought a dry powder that had to be mixed with water, and I had never used this type before. I read the instructions and started the mixing process, which took a total of 15 minutes. I carried the large bucket of grout to the tub and started applying it. It was not only a big mess, but it also looked terrible. I had finished one of the walls, and told my wife that it did not look anything like it should.

Of Course I Followed the Instructions!
My wife asked me if I followed the instructions. I told her that I did. She walked away.

“This had to be right,” I thought.  After all, I did everything exactly like the instructions said. “Oh well, too late to stop now.”  

 

To tell you the truth, the more grout I smeared between the cracks, the more aggravated I became. I was starting to think that I ruined the entire room, not to mention an entire weekend working on it. After all the walls were finished, I looked at the bag and read the next step, which was to take a sponge and begin removing the excess grout off the tiles. It took about an hour and 12 buckets of clean water to get the tiles cleaned off. The grout was starting to look better with each swipe of the sponge, and, to make a long story short, it turned out beautiful. 

 

I had to go back to the bathroom a few more times to admire the outcome.

Our Spiritual Grout
Paul tells us, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). It reminds us that God has started a work in us, and He is not finished yet. Yes, we may see our life in complete chaos, a life no one believes is attractive, but God is still busy working on the final outcome.

 

I know there are times that we can become discouraged when things don’t seem to be going the way we think they should. You know, it seems like God has forgotten about us, and our life looks like a complete mess. The enemy of our soul wants us to think that this is as good as it gets, that Jesus Christ is busy with everyone else and has left the project of me half finished.

Can I remind you that the devil is a liar? Jesus has given us the instruction manual, and, if you have obeyed the gospel and are walking with Him everyday, you can rest assured that He is faithful to complete the work He started. Paul also wrote,  “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16)

 

Continue with the journey.  Trust God and His word. He is about to take the sponge and wipe away some things that look ugly in your life.  He is about to speak a word over you and put on some of the finishing touches. God is not done with your life, your family, or your ministry.  Rejoice today because He is not finished with your development yet.

ninetyandnine.com

© 2007, Randy Bailey

 

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Randy Bailey has been writing spiritual poems/devotions for the past five years. He resides in Wisconsin with his beautiful wife Peggy and their son Rod. Randy has recently had his book “Spiritual Snacks” published, and it is available at Amazon.com (plug). Randy loves to throw the seed through his writings.