“Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God.” Colossians 4:12
We have a little horse that my daughter Sarah was riding last spring, getting her ready to show at the 4H Fair. But just a few weeks before, something spooked the horse and she went through a fence, cutting up her leg pretty good.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just a superficial cut. It was deep and caused injury to the tendon.
The wound had to be cleaned and dressed every day. The horse had to stand in a small pen for a long time to rest her leg. It took a while, but the wound eventually healed over.
First there was a scab, and then a scar. After several weeks, there wasn’t a wound to clean anymore, but there was still healing that had to take place. The vet warned us not to ride her too soon, not to run her hard, or let her out into the big pastures where she might reinjure her healing leg.
We could see the healing which was taking place on the surface, but the vet knew that deep inside her leg, that tendon still needed to heal. He knew what we couldn’t see: that the muscles needed to be strengthened. He knew she still needed time to be strong and complete.
It’s similar with us, and it’s the second truth from my recent message from Cowboy Church on Colossians 4:12 (see also, God hears your earnest prayers).
The scripture teaches clearly that God can completely heal us spiritually. We know that the moment we put our trust and faith in him—the Bible says if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved (Romans 10:9)—if we put our trust and faith in him, he will restore us completely.
But there is always a tension in the scriptures in this regard: a tension between what is already done and not yet complete. The price has already been paid for our salvation, the wound has already been closed up, but we are still being restored.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says we “are [continually] being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.”
We are already strong if we have put our trust in Christ, but we are continually being made stronger as we walk with him each day.
We are already whole if we belong to God, but we are continually being made more complete, as he continues his work of transformation in our lives.
Are you satisfied for the wound to be closed, or are you standing in God’s protection, allowing Him to finish what he began in you, to restore you and make you whole and complete, strong and perfect?
In my previous post, I addressed the first truth, God hears your earnest prayers. Next, I finish this brief series with God wants you to walk confidently in his will.
Beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing this!