What God Starts, He Finishes

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Scripture: Philippians 1:3-6 (NKJV)

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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;

Devotion:

            God, unlike humans, never leaves a task incomplete. I confess I was (and still am to some extent) very guilty of this fault. I try to look like I have all my ducks in a row, but I always seem to leave at least one duck out of the row altogether. I have this problem counterbalanced to some extent by my bent toward perfectionism. I am a walking psychiatric patient. I praise God that He has given me the gifts and talents He has because, without God’s support, my life would be a mess.

            In this letter to the church at Philippi, Paul thanks this congregation for not being a mess. God has given them many blessings, and the church has started many projects with those blessings. Paul knows that God will help them complete these projects. Paul thanks God for His faithfulness toward the church. Paul calls upon God to assist them in every way as they reach for the prize of being found faithful in Christ Jesus.

            Paul has been encouraged by this church time after time. What specific good work they have begun that Paul is writing about, we can only speculate. However, Paul knows that God is faithful and will see that whatever work God has for the church to do will be completed.

            We can take heart in this promise. Whatever good works God has for us will be completed by God’s grace and power. All we have to do is be faithful that God is still working in us and go about the business of building God’s kingdom here on earth. (As Jesus has us pray in His model prayer.) God laid the foundation for all our good works by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, followed by giving us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. God’s people are equipped to do God’s work in the world. Let us pray that whatever God gives us to do, we will rely on Him to complete it.

Prayer:

            Lord, we, like Paul, thank you for whatever good works you start in us; you will bring them to completion in due time. We know that by sacrificing your only Son and gifting us with the Holy Spirit, you intend for us to walk in your power and accomplish everything you want to be done in this world. May we be faithful to the task of kingdom building. Always be ready to share our faith in you with those who ask us about our relationship with you. Glory be to God on high. Amen.

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