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The Slow Work of God

“…until Christ is formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19)

If you’ve ever watched HGTV or been involved in a building project, you know that construction almost always takes longer than expected. The blueprint is drawn, the materials gathered, the foundation laid, and then the real process of formation begins. But there are always surprises—unanticipated problems, delays in materials, weather issues, and so on. Years ago, we bought a home in a new tract before it was built and were assured it would be finished by a certain date. Of course, it wasn’t. Delay followed delay, but eventually we moved in. Building takes time—and the same is true of spiritual transformation.

When you trusted Christ as your Savior, you became part of His forever family, secure in that identity. But that moment was only the beginning of the journey. As Paul writes in Colossians 3:10, we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” And again, in Romans 8:29, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Spiritual transformation is a lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus, and it simply cannot be rushed.

It is, in many ways, “the slow work of God.” As we grow in intimacy with Him, we gradually come to understand who He is. Formation isn’t instant; it is incremental. Over time, you begin to notice God’s presence and activity in your daily life—often realizing with surprise that He was there all along. You start to experience His nearness and sense the need to surrender areas of your life that you hadn’t recognized as barriers to growth. You discover the joy of slowing down and reflecting on the ways He makes Himself known. “Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10).

As you grow in self-awareness and learn to recognize the inner voice of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit, His purposes for you become clearer. This takes time, and you must extend grace to yourself when the journey feels difficult. Often God invites us to wait, to slow down, to simply be with Him. It is His work in us, unfolding on His timetable. But take heart, because He has given us a beautiful promise: “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.” (Philippians 1:6)

Is the slow work of God encouraging or discouraging to you? Think about a time you were surprised by God’s presence. Who helps you discern the movement of the Holy Spirit in your spiritual transformation?

Francie Overstreet
EFCC Member

by Francie Overstreet

Being Transformed Into Glory

2 Corinthians 3:18

I don’t consider myself to be a patient person. I want people to think I’m patient, but inside I’m vanquishing a volcano of acceleration toward completion. “Stop and smell the roses,” sounds like a convenience afforded to few; or is it?

Backpacking has been a lifelong recreation and spiritual encounter for me. The beginning of the trip is always a shift from comfort into bearing the load and adjusting my gear. This requires patient and attentive awareness of friction points and unbalanced loads. You don’t become an experienced trekker on your first journey; you gain this over time, with blisters bearing witness to the transformation. My hikes have primarily been in the mountains. As elevation increases, oxygen decreases, and a reduced pace becomes essential. The slowness of the journey reveals the reason why the trek is meaningful. As I slowly gain altitude, I notice subtle changes. I notice flora in the transformative processes of life. The same plants blooming at a lower altitude in a beautiful array are in bud at elevation. I notice the subtle changes in the rocks and trees as altitude increases, and water unexpectedly appears. If the lack of oxygen were not there, I would speed past these magnificent creations. The delay is a necessary aspect of hiking; it provides the opportunity to behold, wonder, and discover joy. The slowness makes the journey and the struggle meaningful.

In 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, we encounter Moses, the law, and the gospel of Jesus in a new light. Moses’ awareness was formed by his journey. Moses experienced a profound transformation by choosing to say “Yes” to God, encountering the Divine along his journey. This encounter was so powerful that his transformation had to be veiled to allow others to be in his presence. The passage references a lifting of the veil that is later understood through Jesus’ fulfillment of the law. What we may overlook in this short passage is how Moses’ life feels both strangely distant and deeply familiar to our own. Though God used him as a remarkable leader, Moses was still human—marked by weakness, complexity, and grace. Which parts of his story echo in your own? Self-righteous. Vindicated. Judged. Scorned. Rejected. Alone. Afraid. Found. Tested. Tried. Humbled. Searching. Lost. Redeemed. Moses’ formation was in response to his inner longing to know his creator. It led to a path of patient wandering. Not in isolation, but in an emerging observation and participation in the slow work God can bring to the observant wanderer. May your journey of following Jesus bring renewed hope in the God who encounters those on the path to find him, in unsuspecting places, as your pace is slowed.

Jaisen Fuson
EFCC Elder

by Jaisen Fuson

“Who I Am in Christ”

by Anonymous

A Chosen People

1 Peter 2:9-10

Purpose flows naturally from identity. A surgeon performs surgery. A mail carrier delivers mail. A born-again child of God lives to show others the love and goodness of God. You have not just been saved from something. You have been saved for something.

“You have been chosen by God himself—you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure, you are God’s very own—all this so that you may show to others how God called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were less than nothing; now you are God’s own. Once you knew very little of God’s kindness; now your very lives have been changed by it.” (1 Peter 2:9-10, Living Bible)

"God gave us the ministry of reconciliation… We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:18b, 20)

Being certain of who you are in Christ will determine how you represent Him because your life will always reflect what you believe. As you mature in Christ, your identity will not come from what you do; what you do will flow from your security in who you are in Christ. Once you are certain of God’s love, acceptance, and approval, you don’t need to work to earn it. You serve from gratitude for all He has done for you. You are freed to become Christ’s ambassador and an agent of reconciliation between others and God.

“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, your calling is a mission to disciple others to grow in their understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for them.

“For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

God has created you uniquely different from every other person. Likewise, His purpose for you is uniquely designed and prepared in advance by Him. The specific way in which you will serve God is a calling you receive as you abide in Christ. You don’t lead the way; you follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. So, as you spend time with your Lord, ask Him to show you what He wants you to offer to others whose hearts and lives He wants to impact through you. He chose you because he loves you!

Sharon Chapman
EFCC Member

by Sharon Chapman

Christ Lives in Me

Galatians 2:20

Your new life in Christ includes the presence of God’s Holy Spirit living in you.

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20a)

“…you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…” (Ephesians 1:13b)

To experience the fullness of your new life in Christ, it will be necessary to surrender all that conflicts with the Holy Spirit.

“Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

Sometimes a stronghold makes it difficult to live your new life. A stronghold is a habit or a way of thinking that controls how you live. God has given us instructions in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 for surrendering strongholds.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Paul mentions we have been persuaded to believe things that do not agree with God’s truth, resulting in strongholds. So, what can you do? God says, “Take them captive! Make them obedient to Christ!” Take a thought captive by asking if it agrees with what God says is true. Make it obedient to Christ by choosing to believe it (if it agrees with what God says is true) or by refusing to believe it (if it disagrees with what God says is true).

Further obedience requires replacing wrong thoughts with God’s truth. For example, if I believe I am not good enough, I need to realize that is not how God sees me. It is a lie! He says I am His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). I am complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10). I am His treasured possession (Deuteronomy 7:6). I must accept and embrace these truths to keep the lie from influencing how I live.

As you surrender thoughts and attitudes from your old identity, your new life in Christ will become an expression of His love, not your old self. You’ll become increasingly sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Satan will lose the ability to influence your thoughts. What a gift we have through Jesus Christ, who lives in each of us!

Sharon Chapman
EFCC Member

by Kim Freels

New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:14-17

God has completely transformed you into someone entirely new, giving you a full life in Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10b)

Living in your new identity is not automatic. God doesn’t instantly change your behavior or erase all your wrong thoughts. But He is available to help you change.

“For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants.” (Philippians 2:13, Living Bible)

With God’s help, you can discard old messages you received from your past and embrace the truths of your new identity. As you do this with the help of His Holy Spirit, God will continue to transform you. Then your thoughts and behavior will reflect the new life He has given you.

For instance:

~ You no longer have to believe or live like you are rejected, unloved, or shameful. You are God’s treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 7:6)

~ Nothing in all creation can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:35-39)

~ You no longer have to believe or live like you are guilty, unprotected, alone or abandoned. You are forgiven and free from God’s condemnation. (Romans 8:1-2)

~ You will never be alone. God’s Holy Spirit lives in you. (1 Corinthians 3:16)

~ You no longer have to believe or live like you are worthless, inadequate, helpless, or hopeless. You can do all that God has planned for you. He lives in you and will enable you. (Philippians 2:13 and 4:13)

~ You have been given all you need to live the life God created you to live. (2 Peter 1:3)

You may be thinking, “How can I discard wrong messages from my past and embrace my new identity? I’m not even sure how to identify wrong messages. Even if I do, I have no idea how to discard them.”

The best place to start is to ask God to reveal where you have believed something that doesn’t agree with Him. Your new life is based on a relationship with Jesus. He wants you to come to him for help. Take a close look, with God’s help, at attitudes and beliefs that are driving your behavior. You don’t have to stay stuck in your old ways—you are a New Creation!

Sharon Chapman
EFCC Member

by Sharon Chapman

Born Again

John 3:1-9
Everyone is born physically alive, but not everyone is spiritually alive. Spiritual life results from receiving Jesus Christ.

“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 1:3)

"Yet to all who… believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12)

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:6)

God’s Spirit makes you into a completely new spiritual creation with an entirely new identity. You are His reborn workmanship! The “Who I Am in Christ” affirmations (see Friday’s Daily Fill devotional for the Practice section for this week to read more about the “Who I Am in Christ” affirmations) confirm the attributes of a born-again Christian’s new identity.

Throughout your life, you have received messages about who you are. Some messages agree with your born-again identity. Some do not. Sadly, those messages have sometimes led you to see yourself as unacceptable, insecure, and insignificant. These negative views of identity often become who you think you are.

The good news is that, once you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, your identity changed radically to one who is accepted unconditionally, totally secure, and greatly significant. In Christ, your identity is redefined because of your relationship with Him. Your past no longer defines who you are.

You might be asking, “If I have a new life with a new identity in Christ, why do I still feel the effects of my past? What does God want me to do about these old ways of thinking?” God loves us so much that He has told us what to do:

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

When you choose to believe everything that your new birth includes, you will increasingly put off your old self and put on your new self. Are you willing to “be made new in the attitude of your mind”? Start by reading the “Who I Am in Christ” affirmations. Ask God to show you what is preventing you from living like they are all true about you.

Sharon Chapman
EFCC Member

by Sharon Chapman

Practicing the Presence of God

During the FOLLOW sermon series, The Daily Fill devotional will consist of four days of the regular devotionals, and the 5th day (Fridays) will include a “practice” section to help you go a little deeper with the subject studied this past week.
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Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century Carmelite monk, is one of the best-known voices on intimacy with Christ. He called this solitude of the heart, “Practicing the Presence of God.” Brother Lawrence was not a priest or teacher, but a lay brother. Following a near-fatal injury during the Thirty Years’ War, he entered a Carmelite Monastery in Paris, crippled, and became their cook. While his daily routine included the mundane tasks of a cook, he did so with a passion to know and be known; for his Lord to be ever-present in every part of every day. Lawrence was said to be “never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an even, uninterrupted composure and tranquility of spirit.” He claimed that this was not spirituality, but the “practice of the presence of God in all ways and in all times.” During his almost 50 years as a monk, he was sought out by monks and outsiders alike for the beauty of his soul.

Practicing God’s presence means “discerning and developing habits for discerning and awareness of God’s presence.” This comes in part through “noticing.” Noticing draws our attention to the creation that surrounds us and the Creator who has formed a beautiful tapestry of goodness, mercy, and grace right before our very eyes. Noticing takes our attention off ourselves and invites us into the presence of the Almighty.

Start your day by noticing God’s presence.
~ Go for a walk outside. Try not to think about anything in particular—just notice.
~ Breathe deeply and slowly.
~ Listen.
~ Smell.
~ Look.
~ Feel.
~ Ask God to reveal Himself.
~ Call out names of God.
~ Call out his blessings.
~ Be still and know.

The Bible uses phrases such as “abiding,” “remaining in Christ,” “walking with God,” and “keeping in step with the Spirit.”

The following are 13 images that portray what it means to practice God’s presence. These are not one-time actions but ongoing practices. Choose a few to read, ponder, and practice this week, then share your experience with someone.

~ Abide: John 15:4-5
~ Love: Matthew 22:37-40
~ Set your mind: Romans 8:5-6
~ Walk (in step with the Spirit): Galatians 5:16, 25
~ Set your heart: Colossians 3:1-2
~ Rejoice: Philippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16
~ Pray: 1 Thessalonians 5:17
~ Give thanks (in all circumstances): 1 Thessalonians 5:18
~ Run (with endurance and perseverance): Hebrews 12:1-2
~ Submit/Offer (yourself): Romans 12:1-2
~ Press on: Philippians 3:12-14
~ Dwell: Philippians 4:6-8
~ Remember (God’s faithfulness and provision): Deuteronomy 8:2-3

by Anonymous