God’s Promise and Scripture

God’s Promise: God will finish the work he started in us.

Scripture:  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)

Devotional

I like to think I’m handy. It is a regular occurrence in our home that my wife tells me she wants some project done around the house or some piece of furniture, and I think, “I can do that myself.” This worked well early in our marriage. She worked on Saturdays, so I had plenty of free time to get things done. The difficulties began when we started having children. 

Inexplicably, these projects began taking much longer to complete, sometimes sitting unfinished for weeks. One such project was an accent wall with a shoe bench by our front door. We started the project with great enthusiasm, but life and kids’ activities got in the way of us getting to the finish line. For several weeks, we walked past that wall as it stared at us accusingly, wondering why we had abandoned it. 

That is often how we view God’s work in our lives. We look at the things God has promised us in His Word and wonder why we aren’t yet where we wish to be. We do our best to cast our cares at His feet, and yet we still find ourselves anxious. We are working on controlling our temper and giving a gentle answer, yet we still lose our cool. We are working on breaking the chains of addiction in the Name of Jesus, but we still feel the draw of our sin. When will God take these things away from us? Will He ever? 

The answer is yes; He will… in His perfect timing. Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” The Lord is always at work, and we can trust that He will finish that work in us. Through the work of the Spirit, as we continue to abide in Christ and allow Him to transform us by the renewing of our minds, He produces in us the fruits of the Spirit. Sometimes that fruit sprouts immediately, and sometimes that fruit takes years or decades of cultivation and patience before it is fully ripe. 

This is clearly evident in my own life. Fatherhood continuously tests my patience. It is a high responsibility to train up a child in the way that they should go, balancing discipline and correction with love and grace. I have to admit that I often struggle to be quick to listen and slow to anger as I have been commanded. My prayer for myself is that I would parent in a way that is honoring to the Lord and points my children towards Him. I pray that I would not be accepting or tolerant of sin but that I would discipline in a way that is full of love and compassion. 

Though I have not arrived where I wish to be, I can see the Lord’s hand in shaping me into the man He called me to be. The Lord is continuing to work in my life through my wife, my community group, and most importantly, through the Spirit, to sanctify me, crafting me more completely into the reflection of Christ I should be. 

I know I will continue to fail, and yet God, in His loving kindness, has chosen me to be a small part of His story of redemption for this world. He has promised that one day, the work He began in me will be completed. He promises the same for each of us. One day, through trials and perseverance, we will be mature and complete, not lacking in anything. Time and time again, He has proven Himself faithful, and he will not fail in this. We can press onward to the goal, knowing that one day we will be presented as holy and blameless before the Lord. We will stand before Him and see all He has been doing in our lives finally brought to completion. Oh, what a glorious day that will be!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What area of your life have you been waiting for God to complete His work in You? Do you have faith that He will see that work completed?

2. Who or what do you have in your life that God is using to bring about this change? Are you allowing Him to use others to sharpen you and bring about the work you hope to see?

3. What progress or fruit have you seen in your life that you can thank God for, and how does that encourage you to press on as we trust God to bring the rest of His work to completion?