The Work God Does Not Abandon
Paul opens his most affectionate letter with a promise about who finishes what God starts.
Philippians 1:6NIV
Philippians 1:6. Paul tells the church in Philippi that he is confident of this: he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Notice where the confidence rests. Paul is not confident in the Philippians. He loves them, and he thanks God for them, but the sentence is built around what God began and what God will finish. The good work has an author, and the author does not walk away from unfinished projects.
This matters on a Friday in late June when the year is half over and many of the things you meant to become have not happened. You may feel like an abandoned draft. Paul says otherwise. If God has started anything in you, a hunger for him, a softening toward others, a stubborn refusal to give up on prayer, then the ending is already decided. He will carry it on. The day of Christ Jesus is the deadline, and it is his to keep, not yours.
More in scripture
Be Still, and Know
A short command from an old psalm asks us to stop, and tells us why.
Be Still, and Know
An ancient line, written for a frightened people, asks us to stop before it asks us to understand.
Peace That Stands Guard
When worry crowds in, an old letter offers a different way to carry it.
