You don't need anything else....

Hannah is about to start her 4th week at Aveda Institute and this week was an exciting one for her. She got her tools and manniquin heads with human hair! Her kit contained curling irons, flat irons, hair dryer, clippers in 2 sizes, capes, scissors, and much more. So I guess I'll let her cut my hair tomorrow......right?.....WRONG! ha! Does she have all the equipment she needs to cut my hair? Yes. Tools she has, the experience and training on how to use those tools to give the perfect haircut is yet to be learned. Reminds me of a verse our pastor preached on tonight out of 2 Peter.

"By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly
life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us
to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. II Peter 1:3"

From the moment we are saved we have all we need to live a godly life. But just like Hannah, we don't quite know how to use all the "tools" so to speak that God has given us. We have to study, practice, pray and trust in Him to show us how.

Cosmetologists have to log so many service hours, actual working hours to graduate. As a Christian we are continually logging our hours of service until we graduate to heaven. As Hannah progresses through her training she will gain confidence, skill and wisdom. The same is true for us. We gain confidence in the Word and the Lord's faithfulness. We learn skill in knowing how to handle situations in our life according to how God expects us to handle them. And wisdom that allows us to look back and see how God has worked in the past and the wisdom to know he is the same yesterday, today and forever and he will come through yet once again.

As Hannah lifts her scissors to do her first haircut I'm sure she will be a bundle of nerves, but as she begins she will do what she has learned and take it one step at a time. We should do the same. If there is a trial that is new to you, just take what you have learned about Jesus and take it one step at a time. Pull out your tools...the Word, prayer and your faith.

God wants us to live a godly life and a life that is abundant and he has given us all we need to do it. Let's start logging those hours of service so that when we graduate we will not be ashamed of the quality of work we've done.