Waiting on Change

In 1997, God made it clear I owned a root of bitterness. Deep down inside of me, somewhere, it hid beneath years of spiritual growth. Not good spiritual growth. Bad spiritual growth. All those sins of my past buried themselves deep in my heart, causing me to take on a biting tone when I spoke, a sarcastic attitude, a rebellious nature and probably more.

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Connors

 I understood God forgave me of all those sins. I also understood I would grow a bit crooked (like this tree) if I didn't allow the bitter root to be removed and a fresh one planted. 

"that  Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
- Ephesians 3:17-19

God loved me so much He wanted me to be aware of my dark place and to bring it into the light of His love. He wanted me to become rooted and grounded in His love, not my past mistakes.

Photo Courtesy of Sebastian Santana

I spent the next few months rooting out the issue within me. Through time in prayer, worship, thanksgiving, receiving counsel, and reading Scripture, holy surgery began to take place. 

Over time, people began to identify the change. My parents began to say how light my once sharp tone had become. My husband-to-be (we weren't engaged yet) pointed out he'd noticed a difference in my spirit. 

God worked as I waited. God made changes one scalpel cut at a time. Despite my wishes, change didn't come overnight. It came in God's perfect timing.

As easy as it would be to quit trying to change, I continued to work at it. I never gave up hope that one day I would be more like the new man mentioned in the Scriptures and less like the one I'd wanted to leave behind.

"...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:6

God changed my heart and removed that root of bitterness over time. I might not be perfect or complete, but when Jesus comes, God will bring all of His work in me to completion.

Do you look forward to the day God's work is complete in you? Don't quit. Don't give up. Hang on to the promise of God and know that He is working a change in you even now.