TEXT
Philippians 1:1–11
KEY VERSE
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6
CONTEXT
Paul is writing to the believers in Philippi while he is in prison. He thanks God for their partnership in the gospel and expresses confidence that the God who began His work in them will carry it through to “the day of Jesus Christ.” Yet Paul also prays for their love, knowledge, discernment, sincerity, and righteousness to keep increasing. They still need to grow, but their need for growth is not evidence that God has stopped working.
REFLECTION
We are too easily governed by our present condition.
We look at ourselves and see what has not changed. We remember the prayer we failed to pray, the temptation we yielded to, the attitude we should have corrected, the same weakness that keeps returning. We thought we would be further along by now.
And slowly, we begin to draw conclusions about God from what we see in ourselves.
“Perhaps I am not really growing.”
“Perhaps something has gone wrong.”
“Perhaps God is tired of me.”
But the Christian life cannot be understood by looking only at what you are at this moment. You must look at what God has begun and where God is taking you.
Paul’s confidence was not in the Philippians or their ability to finish what God started. It was in God Himself.
“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it.”
Notice the Person at the centre of Paul’s confidence:
He.
We can become so occupied with what remains undone in us that we forget the One who is still working. We see our weakness and forget His grace. We see how far we have to go and forget that He has already brought us this far.
Sometimes our problem is not simply that we are discouraged. We have become too occupied with ourselves.
How am I doing?
Why am I not growing faster?
Why am I still struggling?
Why am I not like that Christian?
Even our spiritual examination can become another form of self-occupation.
Stop making yourself the centre of your spiritual life.
Look to God.
But this truth must not become an excuse for remaining unchanged. We can hear that God is not finished with us and use it to justify what He is asking us to surrender.
Paul does not do that.
In the same passage where he expresses confidence in God’s continuing work, he prays that their love will abound “yet more and more.” He wants them to grow in knowledge, discernment, sincerity, and the fruits of righteousness.
Their need for growth does not contradict God’s faithfulness. It reveals why they still need His work.
So when God exposes something in you, do not defend it.
When He corrects you, do not resist Him.
When He convicts you, repent.
When He calls you to obey, obey.
There is a difference between conviction and despair.
Conviction says, “This must change.”
Despair says, “I will never change.”
Conviction drives us toward God because it believes change is necessary and grace is available. Despair makes us want to hide because it has already decided that change is impossible.
Perhaps you have failed again. Perhaps you are ashamed that you are still fighting the same battle. Perhaps you expected to be much further along by now.
Do not turn your present condition into a verdict against God’s faithfulness.
God has not abandoned the work simply because the work is unfinished.
You are not yet at the end. There is still sin to put away, truth to learn, obedience to give, and growth to experience. But there is also a God who is still working, and there is a day toward which He is bringing you, the day of Jesus Christ.
So do not despair because you are not yet what you ought to be.
And do not become comfortable because God is still working.
Trust Him enough to let Him change you.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Do not judge God’s faithfulness by what remains unfinished in you. Look to the God who began the work, trust Him to complete it, and surrender to what He is doing in you today.
PRAYER
Father, I have looked too much at myself and too little at You. Forgive me. When I see what remains unfinished in me, remind me of the God who began the work. Keep correcting me, changing me, and making me like Christ. Help me trust Your faithfulness without resisting Your work. Amen.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE
Read Philippians 1:1–11 again today.
When you reach verse 6, ask:
Have I been judging God’s work by what I see in myself?
Then ask:
What is God presently confronting in me that I need to stop resisting?
Bring that thing honestly before God. Do not merely ask Him to make you feel better about it. Ask Him to change you, and surrender to His work.
God has not abandoned the work simply because the work is unfinished.
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