Thursday thoughts: God's not finished with you yet

I can hardly believe we are so close to the end of another year. I have been doing a good bit of reflecting lately. I am going to be honest and say this past year has been a hard one for me, not so much physically but emotionally. 

There have been changes at work that resulted in friends retiring, there have been strained relationships that I never thought could be strained, there have been financial issues, there have been sicknesses and surgeries, just a good many things. Most of these things have caused me emotional pain, maybe more than physical pain. I think sometimes that is harder to deal with because on the outside everything looks good but on the inside, you are struggling. 

I know a lot of my family and friends have had tough years as well. There have been job losses, divorce, cancer, death of loved ones and lots of painful things to handle.

I was reflecting on all the things that have happened in my life and I truly believe God gave me this little glimmer of hope. It was like He said to me “Jill if you look in the mirror you will see your reflection and this just means I am not through with you yet.”

When I reflect back on all the hard painful times of the past year I could get a tad bit down and depressed. However, the reflection that God wants me to see is the one that comes up when I look in the mirror. He wants me to see that He still has me here for a purpose. He is not finished with me yet.

One of the definitions of reflection is “throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.” God doesn’t want me to “absorb” all the things in my life that can cause me emotional or physical pain. He will use it in my life but He doesn’t want me to absorb it where it will weigh me down.  I am still here – I can still see my reflection in the mirror – and God is not finished with me yet.

I think about my friends who have lost a loved one this year. I have lost both parents which I am sure is a different hurt than losing a spouse, child, or close friend. I am sure it is very painful and easy to ask “why” and hard to move on. However, God will use this in your life to minister to someone else. You are still here – you can still see your reflection in the mirror – God is not finished with you yet!

I think about my friends who are dealing with cancer or another awful sickness. I have not had to walk any of those difficult roads but I know those who have. I also know people who have been so very sick and they have lifted my spirits and encouraged me when I should be encouraging them. Again, they are still here – they can still see their reflection in the mirror – and God is not finished with them yet!

I am definitely not trying to minimize anything that anyone has been through this year. It seems everyone I know has been through difficult times. What I am saying is that it’s all in how we “see” when we reflect. We can absorb all those hard, painful things and let them weigh us down or we can see that God still has us here and He wants to use those things in our lives to help others and bring Him glory.

Let’s be encouraged that God is not finished with us yet. In Philippians 1:6 it says “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God’s not done with us.

If you can see your reflection in the mirror you are able to turn your focus on Jesus and how He wants to use you. Don’t let those emotional hurts, physical hindrances, and other things weigh you down and absorb your purpose, and believe me I’m speaking to myself. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how little or how much you have done, where you have stumbled or failed, or how far you have come.

You are still here – you can still see your reflection - God's not finished with you yet!

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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.