God will finish what He has started in you – 12 October 2020

I sometimes drive to the airport via Rigel Avenue in Pretoria. Just before leaving the city, there is a huge, half-built, abandoned mall on the left-hand side. The investment firm that had been developing it, went bankrupt. Every time I see it, I think about the huge amount of money wasted on an unfinished project. It is sad to see the building deteriorating without ever providing a return on investment. Sometimes, I wonder whether my life resembles that unfinished, abandoned mall. Our Lord Jesus Christ had made such a huge investment in me, and every other believer, when he paid for our sins on the cross. Will my life be a worthwhile investment for him? I wonder sometimes. Thank God, he does not think about us in this manner. The question should not be whether I would be able to endure and complete the race, but rather: What is God busy doing in my life?

When we were born again, we became the children of God. He had started a new work in our lives – a good work, Paul calls it. It is such a relief that verse 6 teaches us that God will continue his good work in our lives until he is satisfied with the end result. He will continue doing so until the day Jesus Christ returns in glory. That is the grace in which we rejoice, with Paul and the first believers in Philippi. I may be a troublesome building site for the Lord, so he often needs to break down a bit of my own building work, and start building it in the right way again. But, like a caring parent, God keeps on believing in us, giving us new grace, a new chance to start over again until we reach our potential in Christ. Paul reminds us: God will keep on doing this good work in us until the day Christ returns. Our future is safe in his hands, he finishes what he has started in me well.

Prayer: Father, I thank you that you are busy doing a good work in my life. You have made me a new person in Christ. I am so aware that I am not even close to that image you have planned for my life. But thank you for your grace. Thank you that you will never abandon or forsake your children. Your grace is renewed every morning! When I reach those days when I feel like a failure, help me to remember that you are not done with me. You will always be faithful, guiding me and building me up the way you want me to be. For your love and your grace, I am eternally thankful! Amen