Completely Preserved!

I read this familiar verse earlier this week in my quiet time:

1 Thess 5:23,24
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.


What a comforting and quieting verse that is to my heart!
That the God of Peace sanctifies me, and does it entirely. Spirit, soul and body.
What a faithful Father! I live for my God, and He has me covered!
I don't have to worry when I stand before the Lord if I will come up short. He has lovingly and faithfully guided me and corrected me, and cleaned me up again and again through this life. He will be there to welcome me home, paid in full!

I have a note written on the back of one of my notebooks, It reads: Legalism is reducing the law of God to what can be kept with out grace.

When I rely on myself for sanctification I am like the man on the old variety show spinning plates on a pole. I may be able to keep a few going for a bit, but as I see more areas that need attention, (and a faithful and patient God will point them out! Not in accusation, but to teach a lesson, that I need Him!) pretty soon things come crashing down, and I am frustrated and discouraged in my christian walk. Then like a child with a knotted up jump rope, I come back to my Father, hold up my tangled mess, and He straightens me out again, and reminds me of 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Faithful is He who calls me, and He also will bring it to pass.