Karen Tripp MS Blog                  Speaker, Counselor, Author

I am constantly amazed at my “to-do” list.  Just as I scratch off two items, 10 more appear. But procrastination is not as much about what you have left to do as how much you have left undone.  It seems that just as I see the end of a project in sight, some road block jumps up and steers me away from my goal.  So lately, instead of focusing on my “to-do” list, I’ve been looking at my “almost done” list.  Here’s the way my almost done list is looking these days:

1. My daughter’s bedroom is almost redecorated.

2. My office is almost organized. 

3. My website is almost the way I want it.

4. Even this devotional is almost done- but not quite.

Sometimes the frustration of not completing a project can really get to me.  I really hate having things incomplete.

 But then I found this verse, Philippians 1:6, which changed my attitude about my list of incomplete projects.   In this verse, the apostle Paul says “that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Did you hear that? Jesus began a good work in you but he’s not done with you yet!  It’s like you and I are on Jesus’ project list.  I don’t know about you, but I feel like a pretty big project.  Jesus is working to clean up all of the incompleteness in my life from my procrastination to my fretfulness to even that ugly old bitterness I can’t seem to shake.  But as huge of a project each of us may seem, let me assure you- Christ is an excellent project manager; He has everything under control. 

 If you’re like me, you might be wondering how does Jesus complete people?  It seems to me that Jesus can use anything from prayer and Bible study, to getting your oil change or going for a walk.  Of course Jesus also uses times of hardship when you can almost feel God’s hands shaping and molding you.  If you think about it, you can probably look back over the last week, month or year and see the work of Christ in your life completing you.

 So if Jesus is busy completing us, what are we suppose to do?  Completion is less about what we do and more about who we focus on.  You need to not focus on the things you have to complete but focus instead on what God is trying to complete in you.  Did you catch that? Rather than focusing on what task, chore or ministry you have to complete, focus on what Christ has to complete within you.

 It’s OK if you have a list of things that are “almost done”.  You see God is bigger than our procrastination because the day will come when we will look upon Christ’s face and all that’s needed to be done will be done.  Not because of anything we have done but because of everything Christ has done.