Under Construction

On Friday evening I was sitting in the front garden of a home in a prestigious mid-Toronto neighbourhood. It was a beautiful night and I was enjoying the company of people I love. We heard a low hum in the distance. The increasing volume of the hum indicated that whatever it was was getting closer. I realized something was up when our host leapt from his chair yelling "Street sweeper" and ran for the hose while his wife hurried us inside. We watched from the front window as our host and his neighbour desperately tried to soak the street in front of their homes before the street sweeper could go by.

Why, you ask? Directly across the street from where we were sitting there are 60 townhouses being built. There is an incredible amount of dust as a result of the construction and every night the street sweeper goes by to clean up the street but because of the amount of the dust, all it does is move it from the street to the cars, sidewalks, front porches, windows, screens and even the interior surfaces of the homes around. Our host's mad rush for the hose was an attempt to reduce the amount of mess that would be spewed onto his property.

Even though the house we were visiting had been built five years ago, the neighbourhood is not complete. The townhouses that are currently under construction are part of the fourth phase of a subdivision that began over seven years ago. Hundreds of people in that neighbourhood have been living in their fully completed homes for years, but there is still work to be done in order to complete what was started.

When all the phases are completed, the finished development will be fabulous. Attractive homes, lovely green spaces, uniquely designed walkways and some exquisitely landscaped gardens. Everyone is looking forward to that day - no more construction vehicles, no more hammering, sawing or drilling and NO MORE DUST! But until the work is finished, they have to do their best to deal with the side effects of the completion of the project.

It makes me think of Philippians 1:6...

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Too many times I am caught off guard by the approach of God's spiritual construction crew and street sweeper. I get so caught up in enjoying the completed phases of my spiritual life that I forget or ignore the fact that there's more to be done. I have often done the 'mad dash for the hose routine', doing my best to minimize the effects of the aftermath of a street sweeper in my spiritual life.

When God begins to disturb the firmly packed earth around my current foundations bringing on the circumstances required to remove the soil and expose what is underneath so that He can strengthen and/or expand my foundation - it can be painful. I don't always greet that process with joy and alacrity. In fact, it is more likely that I do so with moans, groans and laments such as found in Psalm 55:1-2

Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

How quickly I forget the reality of following Christ. That it is a journey, a process of becoming more like Him, a construction project that essentially does not end till my life on this earth is over. Since I chose to be part of God's Kingdom - His subdivision, if you will, I either need to move or deal with the construction process. Ironically, I have probably instigated the arrival of spiritual construction crews and street sweepers by my own words as I have asked God to make me more like Him or have agreed with Psalm 51...

Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in Your laundry.
I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.

You're the One I've violated, and You've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before You;
whatever You decide about me is fair.
I've been out of step with You for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What You're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

When I am honest with myself about why I am going through a messy, uncomfortable construction process, God is able to do His word unhindered - almost. I need to be honest...I am not always 100% on board even when I give Him permission to go ahead and do what needs to be done. I am like one of those annoying home owners who calls the contractor every other day to change her mind about how she wants things done. When will I ever learn!

In spite of my frustrating interfering and foot dragging, I really do want to experience the construction process that is going to make me more like Christ and cause me to be pleasing to Him. I am thankful for the encouragement of the Psalms through this kind of process, especially from Psalm 139. Take a moment to read and pray it for yourself today. Follow along with David as he highlights the cry of his heart that God would purify him, as he acknowledges how intimately God knows him and the fact that he cannot hide the true state of his heart from Him, as he accepts the incredible job God did in creating him, as he attempts to grasp how much God loves him and as he reiterates his desire to be cleansed from anything that is not righteous.

Years ago there was a popular bumper sticker that said "God is not finished with me yet". Be encouraged. God is making you into who He intends for you to be - and that's a good thing.