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He Will Continue His Good Work in You
Andrea Lende • January 11, 2021
Philippians 1:6
He Will Continue His Good Work in You
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/He-Will-Continue-His-Good-Work-in-You-eor0kl
Philippians 1:6
“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
Paul wrote these words while being imprisoned.
He had every right to be forlorn and apathetic in his situation to say the least.
He didn’t have to write a beautiful and encouraging letter to the Philippians, but he did.
He continued to serve God’s people.
He continued to speak life into their lives.
He continued to be grateful when he could have been angry and frustrated.
He continued to follow the Lord’s leading throughout his imprisonments and eventual death.
He encouraged God’s people with the beautiful words we read today.
The words which have since become a song because of their beauty.
This notion that God will continue the work He started in you is so very powerful.
We are reassured that whatever is happening in our world and lives today the Lord will continue His work.
He will continue to mold and shape us.
He will continue to pour His Spirit into ours.
He will continue to love us, have mercy upon us, and bless us.
I don’t know about you, but my personality still needs adjusting.
My thoughts still need purifying.
My words still need correcting.
My heart still needs changing.
So, Paul’s words are a comfort to me today.
It is, however, my role to allow God to work on me and change me.
Sometimes when things get difficult in our external world, we tend to shut down.
We put ourselves and our own growth on hold.
I pray the Lord will help me stay open to His work in me and continue to work on me no matter what is happening in the external world.
Today I choose to rejoice that the Lord is not finished with me yet and pray I will allow Him to continue to mold and shape my heart and soul.
May you find the Lord will continue His good work in you and that He will remain close to you and enfold you in His love as fine-tunes your heart.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for reminding me You are continuing to work on me. Thank You for reminding me that no matter what is happening in this world You will continue to work on my heart and soul. You will not leave me to struggle with the parts of my heart and personality which are not yet Yours. Help me give You access to every piece of my heart, mind, soul, emotions, and fears. May You lift me to higher ground as You work on me. Do no let me close myself off to You as You reveal what still needs to come higher. Help me see what You want to change and be obedient to Your voice so I will be able to change. Please make me more like You. Help me love like You do. Help me offer mercy to others as You offer mercy. Help me be gracious as You are gracious. Help me love as You love. And help me forgive as You forgive. Keep my eyes on You, Lord. Keep my heart seeking You. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM working in and on every aspect of your life My child and will continue to do a work in you until you come home.
Response: Undeserving of Your time and attention, thank You Almighty God for all You do and all You are.
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.