{If you are reading this post through your inbox, I’d encourage you to go HERE to see the video.}

That video that you just bumped into at the top of this post has had such profound meaning to me in the places that I have been walking these days.  Sometimes, I don’t share everything.  {you know…they say don’t share all your laundry!} But seriously, no matter what junk is in your trunk…these are words that I think God wants others to hear too.

Very recently one Saturday, I was finishing up on some gardening that I was doing when I realized it might be a good idea to sit down at a nearby picnic table out near my garden to eat my lunch and just think.   Slowing down to think sometimes brings such great perspective.  I had no idea what would happen next.

Let me just preface this post with the information that almost every time I am near, around or in my garden…God speaks.  Some hear him when they go on a walk, others in the shower, mine is in my garden.  It has become quite the common place in the last 5 years.  I guess that’s why I have kinda avoided the overgrown and dead mess that happens in the change over of seasons because I could tell that I am in for a good dose of fertilizer on my “life situations”.

As I was quickly consuming my sandwich so that I could get my chores over and done with, the breeze began to blow slightly through the trees.  I had my headphones in and was listening to this CD by Mercy Me that I have been talking about in these places.  I really listened to this one song…you know where you hit the rewind button several times so that you make sure you are soaking in all the words?

In that slight breeze  and the rustling of the leaves, I could hear some Fatherly Advice or Words of Wisdom that usually come when I am INSIDE my garden fence…this time, I was OUTSIDE.  It still filled my entire being with awe. {Tip:  You can’t run from God!}

You see my emotions were in a slight fragile state.  I had just recently found out that there was a fibroids on my uterus.  I knew I didn’t feel good, but I didn’t even imagine there could be anything other than hormones raging.  I was set for a hysterectomy in the next few days. Perspective was happening fast.

“God is able, more than capable to be faithful to the end…and finish what He started.  No matter what you have done, grace comes like the flood, there’s hope to carry on and finish what He’s started.  No matter what you face, his mercy will not change, He is with you all the way to finish what he has started.”

Breathe in…breathe out…

I was flooded that day with this grace and mercy that is spoken about in this song.

Many times, we only see part of the picture; our God sees the whole picture.  This medical hiccup did not catch my God off guard and He still provides the same Peace to walk with us through the whole picture, whether we see it or not.

Joshua 1:7-9 is a scripture that keeps coming around day after day…so He must want me to pay attention to it.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I have to remember that God gives us everything we need to be strong and courageous.  I think that is where I was doubting God that day at the picnic table.  I didn’t feel strong and courageous to walk through something tough.  I’d been there.  It wasn’t fun.

But God says that He gives us everything we need to be strong and courageous.  That strength comes from His Word.  He gives us instructions to think on it day and night.  So I began a practice what I did many years ago…I started writing out these promises on index cards and posting them everywhere so that I could to remind myself of where my strength comes from …not me…but God.

My girls and I are doing a study on the book of Esther in the Old Testament.  It has absolutely rocked me to my core.  The story is of how one woman, who had such strong faith, risked so much of her life for her people.  Lives were changed…destinies were catapulted into existence.  Our study had me in tears yesterday as I looked back and saw the hand of God on every part of this story when the name of God is not even mentioned in this book.

Here is an excerpt from our readings with Esther…

How many times have I done this in my own life, settled for the small win, instead of pushing through to final victory? Answer? A lot. Rather than pushing through, trusting God to see the mighty happen, I settle for the little win, and convince myself it is enough. I can think of many areas in which this is true….healthy eating, prayer, intercession for others, marriage, kids, I could go on.

But as the dawn begins to break for Esther, as she sees the possibility of her people saved, she isn’t rejoicing yet. It Ain’t Over Yet. She still has work to do. God still has work to do. They aren’t finished. They are pushing on.

And in the midst of this, let us never forget that our Almighty God is the real hero in this story of ultimate redemption, turning every story from tragedy to triumph. How can I make such a bold statement? Isn’t that a little over the top to say that every story is turned to triumph? Because He has already redeemed our story! He is the hero of our story! “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” {Ephesians 1:7}

God and His sovereign hand, though not even mentioned in these verses, is woven into the very fabric of this story, working things according to His plan. What a mighty God we serve!

He finishes what He starts.  The Jews, God’s chosen people, are not being shut down by one man’s feelings, but instead they are being set free by one woman’s faith and determination.

He finishes what He starts in our lives too.  My life with my husband was no accident.  My children and their lives are no accident.  He finishes the work that He began in me many years ago in order to pour into this family of mine that I treasure.   He treasures them too!

To let you in on the rest of my story, the surgery went well.  I am home now healing.  But like every time before, we have seen the hand of God move in mighty ways.  The doctors found more than they expected…things not seen on CAT scans and ultrasounds.  Let’s just say…God’s timing was perfect.

He always finishes what He is starts.  When things get tough or even too much to swallow, He doesn’t leave the scene.  He is right there in and through it all.

Folks, It ain’t over yet…He finishes what He starts!

** Here is the link to the full song, “Finish What He Started” by Mercy Me.