P.B.P.W.M.G.I.F.W.M.Y.

“However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.”

(1 Cor. 2:9-10)

Familiar phrases are such a large part of our vocabulary and sometimes we know them so well that we don’t even have to use the words. We can simply use the initials. As a result of this, we’ve become a society where we use initials all the time. This evidently has become the latest fad for people who use text messaging on their cell phone and I.M. (instant messaging) on their computers. In order to conserve time and effort, initials fly back and forth and apparently people actually understand what is being said. I suspect that the techno-generation would like to claim this as a practice unique to their generation, but F.Y.I., we’ve been doing it for quite some time now.

Let me demonstrate, if you were to attend a college graduation and someone receives a Bachelor of Arts degree, you don’t usually congratulate him or her on the Bachelor of Arts, you shorten it, and use the initials, B.A., or for a Bachelor of Science degree, B.S. If you attend a graduate school graduation, someone may get a J.D. or an M.D. or a Th.D. or a Ph.D. or an M.S.W. And, of course, those degrees could be granted by N.Y.U. or L.I.U. or U.C.L.A. or UCONN. – and to get into that school you probably had to take the S.A.T. or L.S.A.T., or M.C.A.T. If you graduate with an M.B.A. you could get a job as a C.E.O. for I.B.M. and then you might drive a B.M.W. Or you could get a job as a C.F.O. for the I.R.S. or the C.I.A. or the F.B.I. or F.D.A. or the F.A.A.. Or you could get a job in advertising for C.N.N. or M.S.N.B.C. or A.B.C. or C.B.S. or E.S.P.N. or H.B.O.. Or if you’re a good athlete you might work for the P.G.A. or the N.B.A. or the N.F.L., N.F.C. or A.F.C.. Or you could work for the AFLCIO. Or you could be the President of the U.S.A. and be known as FDR, JFK, LBJ, or simply “W.” - So many initials – so little time.

But the initials that I want you to focus on today are initials that really can be life transforming – P.B.P.W.M.G.I.F.W.M.Y., “Please Be Patient With Me, God Isn’t Finished With Me Yet.” No matter what you are presently experiencing in your life – no matter the level of maturity – the vastness of your experience – the depth of your education – you are still a work in progress. And what God has prepared for you would absolutely boggle your mind.

The verse above from First Corinthians chapter two is a reminder that God wants us to live with eternity in mind. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. The Bible says, “You can’t imagine it!” Stretch your mind as far as it can go – employ your imagination to its greatest delight – go beyond the boundaries of what your mind can conceive and you still haven’t even come close to the glory you will witness in heaven. God wants us to live with the vastness of that vision in our hearts. Once you get even a small glimpse of that vision, just a little light through the crack in the door, just the tiniest inkling of insight into it – you will become unstoppable in your quest to get your friends and family into heaven. As you live in the light of eternity, decisions in life become easier. Sacrifices become smaller. Kingdom work becomes delightful. Disappointments loose their power to enslave. Failures become new opportunities to grow and mature as you take on the likeness of the heart and mind of Jesus. You may stumble at times. You might even fall. You might even fail at times – but please be patient – because God is not finished with you yet. God wants you to live in the light of eternity and know that the time we have on this earth is time for growing and sowing. There’s coming a time when we will rest and stand in awe of His presence. But for now we are in the season of harvest. Don’t give into the temptation to rest & relax in this world - God isn’t finished with you yet. At time the bones might get weary, the muscles might get sore, the heart might get broken – but please be patient – God isn’t finished with you yet. If you still have breath in your body, He hasn’t finished shaping you into what you will become. The potter is still shaping the clay. The experiences you have gone through are his way of shaping and preparing you for something greater, something better, something closer to what you must become so that others will see Jesus within you. Be patient, God isn’t finished with you yet. Even if you are facing a disaster or major disappointment because someone else has failed or hurt you - please be patient with them also – in case you might have forgotten - God isn’t finished with them yet either. Their failures, like yours, are what He uses so they too will hear the voice of the Spirit, catch a glimpse of heaven, and respond to His call. Please be patient and pray for them to see the light of eternity and surrender their heart to His reign.


L.F.T.D.W.I.W.S.H.F. (Longing For the Day When I Will See His Face),

PT