“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6
I am sure that every one of us has an unfinished project somewhere in our home. We saw an interesting pattern and purchased the materials to make it, but just never got around to finishing it. Every few months we probably pull it out and maybe work a bit on it, but then it gets put aside until later. We keep telling ourselves that we are going to complete it, and maybe someday we will.
In the verse that we have quoted, Paul is writing to the church in Philippi which he had founded a few years earlier. He remembers each one of the people there and commends them for their continuing faith in Christ. He tells them that he knows they will continue to let the Lord work on them and keep them faithful until He returns. He has confidence in them.
Although this was written to a church a long time ago, this verse can apply to us today. If we think of ourselves as a project that the Lord is working on, we know that He will never give up on us. Each trial, each test we face makes us stronger in Him. In the eyes of others, we may seem like an unfinished project, but we are not hidden away somewhere and forgotten. He is continually working on us, to make us what He wants us to be. We have confidence that He will keep shaping us and molding us as we yield to Him. He is preparing us for eternity.
I John 3:21-23 “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
John tells us that if we have obeyed the commandment to believe on the Lord and to love one another, then we know that the Lord abides in our heart, and this gives us confidence to ask Him for whatever we need. His ear is always open to hear our prayers, and we can trust Him to lead us step by step.
God has no unfinished projects. We are a work in progress, but every day He works on us to perfect us. Oh, the joy when we stand before His throne, a completed work.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that you are still working on me, making me what you want me to be. Thank you for the confidence we have that we can trust you to complete what you have begun in us.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
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