And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Phil 1:6 – NLT).
This verse has been a great encouragement to me over the years. Discouragement and disappoint affect us all at times. At one point in my life, it seemed as though all that the Lord had done in my life was for nothing. The enemy attacked me with discouragement as I looked back at where I had been and then looked at where I was at that time in my walk with the Lord. My goals had not been realized. My plans had been hampered by circumstances beyond my control.
I’ve found that the toughest times in life can actually be the times of greatest spiritual growth. As fire tempers metal, difficulties have a way of bringing the dross, the negative things that hinder life, to the surface in us. And then the Father in His gentle, loving way begins the process of ministering life and changing us.
The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance. When the Father brought you into His family, He placed a down payment within you. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the guarantee that He will finish what He started.
Listen to Him speak to you today:
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands (Psalm 138:8).
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18 – NIV).
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. (9) We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. (10) Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies (2 Corinthians 4:8-11-NLT)
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. (17) For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! (18) So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 -NLT).
The Lord is well able to finish what He started in you. Don’t give up while in process!