The phrase, “a work in progress”, can be taken a number of ways. It may be a way of saying, “don’t judge me.”, or “Don’t hold me accountable”, in other words a cop-out. However, to most of us it means that we recognize that we aren’t yet what we will become. The obvious truth is that we are all a work in progress and will be until the day that we die. Thankfully, as believers we have the promise that His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) and that He is committed to finishing what He began in us the moment we believed! (Philippians 1:6).
As I write this I am sitting at a table in my favorite Coffee Shop on the square in downtown Bentonville, AR, looking out the window at a cold rainy day sipping some great coffee and pondering the amazing events that are unfolding in our lives. People ask me what we are doing now that we have resigned as Sr. Pastor here in Northwest, AR. The only answer I can give them is that our choice to pursue God’s purposes in our lives have led us to step out without knowing exactly where we will end up. Not only are we a work in progress, but so is our journey. This is not new to us. It’s how we have lived our lives our entire ministry. I guess you could say that this is just us, practicing what we preach. Still, being a work in progress can be challenging. Two words are the reason for this.
The first is the word “work”. For some reason we have this notion that if we follow Jesus that everything should just come easily to us without any effort from us. Work is not a bad word. It means the expenditure of effort and energy for something that we deem worthwhile or essential. Certainly the purposes of God are both of these things. I have the promise that He is in the yoke with me and that it will not be too great for me as I engage in the work of becoming what He saw in His creator’s minds eye when He formed and fashioned me for purpose and meaning.This work is partnering with Him, depending on Him and cooperating with Him as I embrace the necessary change that purpose requires.
The second word is “progress”. We have a love/hate relationship with this word. It either encourages us and gives us hope or it calls us to task when it isn’t evident in our experience. Just as surely as work is necessary to fulfill purpose, so is progress. It may be small or great, but when following the Lord, there is always progress. This progress may be in attitude, faith level, willingness or actual increase in influence and impact. I can believe that as I follow His leading, I will have noticeable progress in the journey. We are not walking on a treadmill on some kind of virtual journey with God. There is actual and definitive progress made as we walk with Him towards His purposes. Some progress is tangible and some is intangible, but it is always there.
These are exciting days for us. We are encouraged daily as we see progress and we embrace the work because we believe that this is a worthy and worthwhile pursuit! We are truly a work in progress as is the development of Bill Leckie Ministries and this website, so check in often to keep up with our work and our progress!
