NOT FINISHED YET...

“I am tethered to Your every word, my heart ever after Your heart first; I will trust You here, I will trust You here. My hope always set in who You are, even when I can't see every part; I will trust You here…I will trust You. 

I won't forget the things You've done, for I know that this is just the beginning; You're not finished yet, You're not finished yet. Until I see Your promise come, God with all I am, I'll keep believing that You're not finished yet, You're not finished yet.

You don't play games, it's not who You are, You're not the type to mislead my heart; I can trust You here, I can trust You here. I've only known You to keep Your word, I've only found love at every turn; I can trust You here…I can trust You. 

Until the dry bones wake, until the mountains shake, until the darkness breaks; I will praise You, I will praise You…”

These are the lyrics to a song that has been on repeat on my playlist for a while now. The song “Not Finished Yet” by The Belonging Co. is a beautiful song with simple yet powerful lyrics that display a total dependency on God, a dependency that allows Him to fulfill the promised destiny He has given to each one of us. Check out my cover of this beautiful song:

As Christians, we have an inkling of God’s divine calling and destiny for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11), but the picture isn’t always clear, is it? Especially when faced with certain roadblocks that have been seemingly set up to divert us from our calling. The hardships, the trials, and oh the dreaded wait! But we must seek to gain a biblical perspective while in the midst of the wait, the trials, and the hardships of life.

The lives of the patriarchs of our faith, Abraham & Sarah, Joseph, King David, and even the three Hebrew captives – Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego – exemplify this biblical perspective I’m referring to. For example, Abraham, as he waited for his child of promise, believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3) and Sarah judged Him faithful who had promised her this child, and thus was able to receive strength to conceive this seed of promise (Hebrews 11:11). 

Joseph, after receiving a prophetic dream concerning God’s great plan for His life, didn’t receive the promise until 13 years later. Thirteen Years! Wow! His attitude? Complete and total trust in God, faithfulness to whatever his hands found to do – the “little” things, and integrity in the midst of certain temptation (for reference, read Genesis 37, 39-50).

Then there’s King David, a mighty man of God who at a young age was anointed by the prophet Samuel, according to God’s edict, as King over Israel (1 Samuel 16). Yay! But not so “yay”, as he had to wait something like 20 years to become said King. His wait time was fraught with such difficulty, one would imagine he was tempted to give up. King David’s response in all this? Fearless courage as he faced the jealousy of King Saul, and integrity as he maintained he would not do a thing to hurt this adversary even when given prime opportunity to do so (2 Samuel 24:6-7).

Finally, the three Hebrew boys (I use the term “boys” loosely for I don't know how old they were exactly), Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, not only had to deal with being dispossessed from the homeland, but also had to deal with the threat of being burned alive for honoring God and refusing to bow down to the King's image. Their response? They stood sure-footed against the threats of their captor, King Nebuchadnezzar and declared, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up”. Daniel 3:16-18. Such display of faith!

So, what is your response as you wait for His promise to be fulfilled in you? Some tips:

1.    Remain tethered to His word: Get so familiar with the word of God and His promises, that you're able to spot a lie when it is presented. The word of God is your sword against the lies of the enemy, so learn how to wield it, and then use it! “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” Psalm 149:6.

2.    Seek God’s heart: Seek His heart, not His hand. I mean, keep believing God for that promise, but do not make that your idol. Seek His face, surrender that promise to Him and let Him fulfill it in His timing, not yours.

3.    Maintain hope: Place your hope in God, it will never disappoint. Even when you don’t see how things work out, you can’t see every part, trust God. Trust that He is working behind the scenes in your life, because He is! Let hope be your anchor…(Hebrews 6:19).

4.    Remember: Remember all that God has done for you in times past – and I know if you take time to look back over your life, you’ll see glimpses of His work.  If He has done it before, that is, if He has fulfilled a dream you once had, then He surely will do it again. But you must have faith and believe that He is not only able to, but willing to complete all He’s begun in your life (Hebrews 11:6; Philippians 1:6).

5.    Trust God’s Character: Trust that the plan of God for your life, no matter what it looks like right now, is a good plan (Jeremiah 29:11). The Word of God never returns void but always accomplishes all it has been set out to accomplish – ALWAYS! ((Isaiah 55:11); “For all God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’, and through Christ, our ‘Amen” (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for His glory". (2 Corinthians 1:20). Trust increases the more we know someone; so, get to know your Father. 

6.    Keep On Praising: determine in your heart that you will not allow anyone/anything to steal your joy, you peace, or your song. Keep on praising God Almighty, no matter what it looks like. Remember Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25-31, and how their sounds of praise precipitated a supernatural chain of events that enabled them escape the prison. Likewise, your praise is the key that unlocks the door to the promises of God over your life. Praising God enhances our vision of Him, thus making Him bigger (which He certainly is) than the issues we face. 

Trust Him! Trust the plan of God for your life for He’s not finished yet! Even when it looks like it's the end, remember, your story is yet to be completed. Take it one day at a time, and allow His dream for your life unfold. He is good, He is faithful, He loves you, and He will never ever leave you nor relax His hold on you (Hebrews 13:5-6).