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He Completes You
Andrea Lende • March 15, 2020
I Peter 5:10
He Will Complete You
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Daily Word:
I Peter 5:10
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.”
There is hardly more that I wish for more than to be what I ought to be.
I have lived over half of my life now, and fully desire to be what God wants me to be.
My agendas are done.
My dreams of the past are exactly that – the past.
The only thing I long for is to be completely given to the Lord’s will.
I love that this verse says that God calls us to be His own.
Even if everyone in the world deserts us God wants us to be His.
How wonderful it is that we can count on Him.
We are all familiar with the phrase, “You complete me”.
In this verse, Peter tells us that God completes us.
He makes us whole.
He makes us what we are supposed to be.
He strengthens us.
And He settles us.
We have had some very unsettling days over the last few weeks.
We can look to God to settle us.
When the world gets too loud, we can slip away into His presence and be quieted.
When I spend time with Him, He stills my soul.
He fills me with love.
He rests His peace upon me.
Today I choose to be completed by my Maker and be securely fastened to Him so that He may strengthen me and settle my spirit.
May you find that as you spend time with Him that He completes you, grounds you, strengthens you, and settles your spirit.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for caring for me so deeply that You desire me to be all that You have for me to be. You constantly work with me and work on me to complete me. You strengthen me and settle my spirit so that I can worship You. You are great and mighty and are greatly to be praised! You are the God of the universe and God of my heart. I love You, Father, and put all my faith and trust in You. You quiet the noise around me and rest Your peace upon me. May Your perfect will be done in my life. Help me not get in the way of Your plan, Lord. Help me do all that You have for me to do here on this earth. Help me love Your people, Father. Help me serve with joy. Soften my heart and put Your compassion in me so that I can do what You ask me to do. Help me see others as You see them. Even though these days and times require me to pull in, help me serve where I am able. Show me what You desire from me, Lord. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I love you, My child, and will continue to complete the work I have started in you so that you may serve My people.
Response: Help me do all that You desire me to do, Lord.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.