Devotion 2
"Being confident…
"Being confident…"
I ran into these words in college, and they have been a force in my life ever since. However they don't stand alone:
"Being confident of this very thing…"
There's a specific here.
"Being confident of this very thing that He…"
Another dimension is added.
He who? If you're a Christian, you know the answer. The He is Christ.
"He who hath begun a good work..."
The work is salvation —
"In you..." — a living growing relationship between and the triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — and me. It doesn't get any more personal than that. What could be more important? But the sentence is still unfinished. Christ, who hath begun my personal relationship with the triune God: "…will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)
This is an ongoing promise. It isn't a coupon that expires at the end of the year. It will never run out as long as I live. But there are three more things for me to consider here: I am part of the process. The promise requires my confidence in Christ. It also requires that I understand that this relationship is a work in progress.
We're not talking about my job.
We aren't talking about my family.
We aren't talking about my church.
We're talking about my growing relationship with the triune God. What does it have to do with my job?
Everything!
What does it have to do with my family?
Everything!
What does it have to do with my church?
Everything!
Nothing is in sync when my confidence in God is out of balance. When I am in sync with Him, He's the leader of the pack of commitments in my life. What a relief! The demands of my life don't rest solely on my shoulders unless, of course, I insist on carrying them alone. Seems like a no brainer to me!
In other words:
"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6, KJV)There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Jesus Christ appears. (The Message)
Begin confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it
on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. (NIV)
For further consideration:
Psalm 118:18-19
I Thessalonians 5:24
Job 23:10
©Ann Wharton, Honeycombe@aol.com
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