A little over 10 years ago, we built our home. It was the first "brand new" house in which my wife and I have lived. With the exception of hanging ceiling fans in each bedroom, we did none of the labor. It was a turnkey job.

You can imagine that 10 years later we have had to make changes. We’ve painted every room in the house. We’ve replaced flooring with new carpet, tile and laminate wood. We’ve added a Florida room and a covered patio. And we have completly redone one bathroom.

All of these jobs have changed the appearance of the home in positive ways. When you complete such a project you are pleased to see the difference. To use the words of Christina on the show, "Flip or Flop" it makes the house, "pop."

This week, we had to replace the garage door and opener. The door was warped, and the opener had been hit by lightning in a recent storm. Two men came in and made the changes in less than four hours. The new door is nice, and the opener is so quiet it is almost alarming. Our old opener caused the whole house to shake.

But here’s the deal. From the outside, or even the inside, you can hardly tell any difference. The new door and opener add no value to the home. The only people who even notice it are my wife and me.

Still, it was a job that needed to be done. It makes a difference to me, even if no one else knows about it .

Our spiritual lives are often like that. God is quietly at work in our lives to make us into the people he wants us to be. Many of the changes in our lives are not noticeable to others, even those who are closest to us. But they are real, and they make a real difference in who we are.

We can be extremely impatient. We want immediate and obvious changes. But sometimes God quietly works in us, making changes others don’t see, but that make a world of difference in us.

It’s all a part of his plan. Remember Paul’s words to the Philippian church. "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

You can trust God to finish what he starts.