The Big Picture - Part 2

If you were to go into my basement bathroom, you would see about a foot and a half of dirt piled up on the concrete floors. You would see a huge hole that has been drilled into the concrete and you would definitely known there is some construction going on. MY HOUSE IS A MESS!

There is a toilet, 2 vanities and a bathtub sitting in my living room. I have one working toilet in the house and no shower or vanities. MY HOUSE IS A MESS!

We just redid the kitchen but there is now a hole in the side of the wall where the bathroom construction got a little messy.

I have suitcases and dirty clothes piled up, from a weekend away from the house. I am mopping while construction workers and plumbers track in dirt. Have I mentioned that MY HOUSE IS A MESS?

Construction is messy!

I wrote about this before, A Dirty House but these same thoughts are coming to my mind...

This is like my spiritual life. I know there are issues I need to clean out and fix up, but it's work and it's DIRTY. It's going to hurt, it's going to be embarrassing and I am going to lose things that I have held on to.

When Jesus cleaned out the temple, He made a mess. He overturned tables and stirred up some dust. When He died on the cross, it was HORRIBLY painful and messy.

When we give up that sin habit, there will be withdrawal pains. When we make it right with that person, our pride will feel stomped on. When we decided to put aside _________ to make time for our devotions, we are going to have to give something up, or at least put it off.

Construction is not fun. Revival is not fun! It's often painful! I really dislike my house right now, but there is a MUCH LARGER PICTURE and my dad reminded me of this recently.

"Dirt can be cleaned up but look at those new pipes. THIS IS EXCITING! Look at what has been done." He said. "Look at the brand new bathroom that is being built; look at what is being done. Get your eyes on the end result."

I will be honest. I see A HOT MESS right now. I see the pain of moving everything around, the disrupted house, the dirt everywhere, the inconvenience without working bathrooms. But there is a big picture. There is a construction worker and an electrician and a plumber who are working together to give me the bathroom of my dreams. It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to show it to you all. I am so blessed!

I am blessed that there is a pile of dirt in my basement bathroom because that means my bathroom is being fixed.

I am blessed that I have BRAND NEW fixtures sitting in my living room, waiting to be installed. I AM SO BLESSED.

I am blessed that I have holes in my walls, which will eventually be fixed. They mean that work is in progress. I AM SO BLESSED.

I am blessed to have dirt to clean up, because that means some one is working on the problem. I AM BLESSED.

Let's look at the big picture. -Rejoicing in the Present