GOD COMPLETES HIS WORKS

“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” – Philippians 1:6

GOD COMPLETES HIS WORKS: “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” (Phil. 1:6). Paul encouraged the Christians in Philippi with these confident words. He had no doubt that God would finish His good work in their lives. Whatever He commences, He completes. Whatever He begins, He finishes. The Amplified Bible says, “I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] PERFECT and COMPLETE it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].” God is the Pioneer and Perfecter of our Faith: “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb.12:2, RSV). Nothing can deter Him from finishing what He starts.

It is in God’s character to finish whatever He begins. In the Beginning, God finished the work of creation and rested on the seventh day (Gen.2:2). And on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!” (Jh.19:30) – He had completed the work of redemption by giving His life as the perfect sacrifice to pay the debt of our sins once and for all time (Heb.10:10). In the same way, God is able to finish what He has begun in the life of every believer, as Paul confidently assured the Philippians (v.6). In other words, we can rest assured that God is going to finish what He began. He's not going to leave it half-done. He’s not going to abandon His assignment. We are the works of His hands; and He’ll never “forsake the works” of His hands (Psa.138:8). God will perfect all of my life’s assignment!

Beloved, are you discouraged, wondering how you're going to make it through with everything you are facing and with the enemy assailing you and threatening, "It's all over"? Are you anxious and worried about what's likely to happen in the near or farther future?  Perhaps you're a parent who doesn’t know what to do with the children, with the bills or with an elderly parent; or you’re a young person who is uncertain as to what career path to pursue or whether you’ll even have a job after you graduate; or you’re transiting between jobs and feeling insecure in this time of global economic turmoil. Wisdom is saying: “It's not about you.” God isn’t saying, "You will finish the work you began..."  Nor is He saying, “You will finish the work I began.” Rather, He is saying, “I will finish the work I began in you.”  We’re not the ones who complete the work; He does. We are His projects; we’ll never be abandoned!

How does God complete His good work in us? Christ gives the answer: “ABIDE IN ME, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (Jh.15:4-5). To abide in Christ is to stay connected to Him – the Source of our life and True Vine, from whom we grow and develop into completion. Jesus is the fountain of living water from which our lives flow. We keep ourselves so interlinked with God’s life that others can't tell where we end and God begins. We spend quality time alone in God’s Presence and feast daily on His life-giving Word. We sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His voice. We thank, praise, and worship Him continually. We serve Him, obey His commands, and love Him. We follow Him and make disciples.

Pray according to Psalm 138:8 – “Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal – don’t quit on me now (The Message).