Jun 29, 2015
God is not finished
Katrina Goodrich
Women’s Society
A few weeks ago, I stopped at a red light waiting for my right turn arrow. Because the light is on a sensor, I was impatient to get to this particular intersection — but I didn’t make it in time. For some reason I stopped several yards before the intersection. This is extremely uncharacteristic for me, even when I’m not in a hurry. As I was sitting there, I heard the unmistakable screech of tires and looked over just in time to see a speeding car spin out of a turn and head straight for me!
I did not see my life flash before my eyes. I just went blank and thought, “Could this be how my life ends?” A legitimate thought, dramatic morbidity aside, as people die in car accidents every day. The other car’s emergency brake engaged and stopped a yard away from mine. The metal sign that was knocked off its post clattered to the ground inches away from my front bumper. If I had pulled forward in normal fashion, I would have had a sign through my window and a car in my side. But other than a quick shock to my system and a very frightening few moments for the driver who lost control, no significant damage was done to anything but the median sign. It was a near miss — and I’m assigning that to God.
This incident got me thinking about different situations that could have turned out very differently give or take a few moments or inches. My experience led me to think of a phrase that I’ll borrow from presentations Director of Education and Ministry, Nick Kersten, gave a few years ago: God is not done with me yet. If God were finished with the work He wanted to accomplish with me and through me, I would not exist in this atmosphere any longer. I’m here — and God has a purpose.
It seems a bit elementary, but I realized I’ve been walking around for some time unsure about whether or not God was “done” with me. I didn’t think I was a perfected work, but my life seemed stagnant and I subconsciously interpreted that as God taking a step back.
Though my life seemed stationary and rote, that didn’t mean God had taken a step back. Instead of huge or profound changes, God was making little refinements, teaching me everyday lessons I needed to learn — even if it didn’t register on my “god-dar.”
Narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with an out-of-control vehicle puts things into perspective. I may not understand or have a set direction that I can see — but that doesn’t mean I’m not moving on a path, and it does not mean that God has completed His living work of art and released me into the fray. If that were true, there is no reason for my continued existence on Earth — sort of macabre but true.
Since I am here and well, in spite of the odds against it, I am led to conclude that God is not finished with me yet. Nor is God finished with you. In spite of all statistical probability to the contrary, you are here, alive on Earth as part of God’s infinite plan. At no point is it possible for you to be outside of it.
Regardless of your feelings, you are a part of His purpose. Knowing that, even when you can’t see or understand, is important. Without that knowledge, how can you be prepared to “give an answer for the hope you have in Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:15)? We can hope because we know His purpose for this world and that we exist as a part of that purpose. God is not finished with us yet.
