Philippians 1:3-6 (NKJV)
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
We all come up against challenges that are overwhelming and we are not sure how we will make it through. Or we don’t feel we have what it takes to accomplish something. We are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. It seems as darkness is closing in around us. But the key is walking through the valley. There is a table prepared for us on the other side if we keep walking. Don’t stop here!
In his letter to the Church at Philippi, Paul writes words of thanks and praise about his flock there. They have been faithful thus far. He is concerned that they are having a hard time and losing faith. Jesus said in John 16:33 “33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” “In this world you will have trouble. He told them flat out. However, He told them He had overcome the world by His cross. And He did that for you and me. You may struggle but we already know the final outcome. You win because you are on God’s team. Have confidence and fight the good fight. He who begun a good work in you will complete it.
What is the good work He has begun in you? In Galatians 5, we are told of these fruits. “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.” All of these have been placed in us. You are God’s Masterpiece created in His image and likeness. You are holy, righteous and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. You are anointed. You are empowered. You are highly favored. You are guided by His Spirit. With all that behind you, this should be an awesome day for you. You are a child of the King. Put your shoulders back. Raise your head up high and go out and show the world what it looks like to follow a Risen Lord today!
Each day, when I awake, I have to make the choice to get out of bed as do you. Some days, I do not want to get up. Voices tell me nothing good is going to come out of today. But God’s voice tells me this is the day the Lord has made. I choose to rejoice and be glad in it. You have a choice. Will you get up and do everything as if unto the Lord or will you listen to the negative voices which say you’ll never accomplish your dream? What choice will you make? Remember who loves you and what He has placed inside you! You have everything you need. The dream in your heart is from Him. Go live the dream! Be who God calls you to be and let Him finish the work He has begun in you.
Thank You Father that you have created us to be who You decided we should be. Thank you for all the gifts and talents you have given us. Help us to use what you have given us to Your glory to complete the work You have begun in us today. In your name we pray! Amen!
From Greater by MercyMe: There’ll be days I lose the battle Grace says that it doesn’t matter
Cause the cross already won the war. I am learning to run freely Understanding just how he sees me
And it makes me love him more and more.