Good morning…
Today is the final Friday morning class of this weird semester. We have gathered in an open space at church rather than the cozy warmth of our living room. We have pulled uncomfortable stackable chairs into a circle, six feet apart, rather than relaxing on our couches with pillows, blankets, and our furry, friendly dogs. We have shared no teas, no snacks, no unmasked conversation, instead our hour each week has been chocked full God’s undeniable bonding power. This morning we will unpack together one simple question: “What word sums up this semester for you?”
I invite you to breathe into your own response as I breathe into mine.
“What word sums up this semester for you?”
A word slowly begins to dawn in me. “Unfinished.”
The study we have been writing with God is “unfinished.” The process of Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul is “unfinished.” God’s transformative work in me, in you, in our class, in our country, in our whole wide world is “unfinished.” To tell you the truth, I have a strong love/hate relationship with “unfinished.” I hate the half-baked, unsettling experience of being held “in suspense and incomplete.” At the same time I love the new possibilities, the limitless potential, and the enduring promises of the living, breathing Word of God.
And so we have been given the prophetic word—the written message of the prophets, made more reliable and fully validated by the confirming voice of God… And you will continue to do well if you stay focused on it. For this prophetic message is like a piercing light shining in a gloomy place until the dawning of a new day, when the Morning Star rises in your hearts.
You must understand this at the outset: Interpretation of scriptural prophecy requires the Holy Spirit, for it does not originate from someone’s own imagination. No true prophecy comes from human initiative but is inspired by the moving of the Holy Spirit upon those who spoke the message that came from God (2 Peter 1:19-21, TPT).
Day by day, week by week, we have unwrapped a fresh message that came from God. Because spiritual discernment does not originate in our own imagination, true prophecy cannot come from human initiative. We have been forced to rely solely on the movement of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not finished. The Holy Spirit is not finished revealing the words of this study material. The Holy Spirit is not finished shining God’s piercing light into our gloomy places. The Holy Spirit is not finished dawning for us a new day, when the Morning Star rises in our surrendered hearts.
Shining. Dawning. Rising. We know these verbs require time, patience, and the Source of light which quietly transforms darkness. The best thing we can do when we are surrounded by these verbs is to pray for our increased desire to wait well with God.
I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work (or “good, worthwhile work”) in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you (or “he will see to it that you remain faithful”) until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ! (Philippians 1:6, TPT).
“Paul uses language here that sounds similar to Genesis 1:2,” says the footnote. I look up this verse in the VOICE translation: At first the earth lacked shape and was totally empty, and a dark fog draped over the deep while God’s spirit-wind hovered over the surface of the empty waters. Then there was the voice of God. “When God created the heavens and the earth, he declared it to be ‘good’,” continues the footnote. “And now with the new creation life within us, God again sees our growth in grace as something good.”
“Unfinished.” What a perfect word for this strange year, this unusual semester, this one-of-a-kind day. As we wait, we lack shape. As we wonder, we feel totally empty. As we witness discomfort, dark fog drapes over our deep. Yet God’s Spirit hovers, always present, every morning. When the moment is right, then there is a voice from God. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3).
Yes, we are “unfinished.” And with God’s new creation life expanding within us, our “growth in grace” is….like a piercing light shining in a gloomy place until the dawning of a new day, when the Morning Star rises in our hearts (2 Peter 1:19-21, TPT).
…Sue…
P.S. If you are interested in exploring with God our Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul study, here are the final “unfinished” two weeks as well as a link to the study from the start.
