Encouragement

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Aida, our helper once brought at least two dozen big green bananas from her hometown. They look very delicious. However, the bananas are not yet ripe cannot be eaten. Aida said that they would soon ripe. So we put it aside hoping that it we could eat after a few days. Two days has passed and it is still has not ripen. Aida was now beginning to complain. She pointed out that those bananas were really heavy and caused her discomfort during her travel. Mother was also very disappointed. I myself wondered if its good to just throw it away. Besides, I reasoned to myself, its useless to keep it anyway. We decided to put it aside. After, a few more days the banana was as green and uneatable as ever. A time soon came when I completely forgot about it. More than one week has passed, when I soon notice another bunch of big yellow bananas in our kitchen.
It was the Sunday morning and I wake up late. Usually, I wake up at 6 in the morning to have my prayer time with God. However, I just don't feel like it. Its just that I feel so frustrated. My spiritual life is going down and I'm constantly feeling guilty about not sharing the gospel. So when I saw the yellow bananas in my kitchen, it delighted me to know that those were once the green, uneatable bananas.
Immediately, God made me realize an important principle that I have forgotten. “Transformation takes time.” Becoming more like Jesus, is not a one night process. It is a life time process. True, a single event can become a turning point in one's life. However, becoming more like Jesus takes time. Just like the bananas that have to go through a time of waiting before it can become what it really is, so must I go through a time of waiting. This time of waiting requires humility, patience and faith.
I need humility in order to remind myself that life is not about me. That I don't know anything. That the things that I want is not what God wants me for me. It takes humility to admit that God knows best in this life that he has given to me. I need patience in waiting for God's timing. I know that God is never early nor late in fulfilling his promise. However, there are just times when I just don't get it. There are time when God seems so lazy in fulfilling his promise. However, as I look back. I realize that he has a purpose why he made me wait. Lastly I need to have faith on his promises. Of course, I can only get these three things from God. Indeed God is the source of our very lives.
Many times we may not see God working in our lives but that doesn't mean that he has forgotten us. We could have thrown those bananas out but God never allowed such thing to happen. He protected those bananas from such fate and brought it through the process of ripening. For more than one week, those bananas didn't show any sign of change. Yet in His time, he turned those uneatable green bananas into yellow very delicious bananas. He is also working in our lives. We may not see it now but that doesn't mean he isn't working.
As I reflect on the small miracle that God showed to me, I realize that God is an amazing God. He knew that I would be going through times of disappointments and struggle. He reminded me that He is at work in my life and he will surely finish what he has started. He will do it for you too.

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

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