The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Good Work (In Progress)"
Part 2 - "Being Confident"
"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).
Wherever we may be in walk with God as born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be sure of where He is in His walk with(in) us, as the Apostle Paul affirmed, "Being confident of this very thing."
"I will dwell in them and walk in them" (II Corinthians 6:16).
Our Heavenly Father abides ever faithful to fulfill His "good work" of conforming us to the spiritual and moral image of the Lord Jesus (Romans 8:28-29). Of course, He must execute His purpose in accordance with our response to Him. One of the great wonders of His working in us involves the perfection of His way, as executed in the imperfection of ours. Among those consistently faithful, He works to nurture and to further trust, obedience, and humility - Growth. In the wayward, He acts to reprove, correct, and restore faltering feet to the path of righteousness - Correction. And in those hovering uncertainly between faithfulness and waywardness, He works to enhance the former and enable overcoming of the latter - Consistency. Most importantly, we must be confident that He works. Our Heavenly Father unceasingly acts to fulfill His purpose in His trusting sons and daughters in Christ, all of whom will one day be like His Son.
Our response to God matters greatly. That which God works in, we are called to work out (Philippians 2:12-13). When our time comes to leave this planet, whether through the valley of the shadow of death, or to meet the Lord in the air upon His return, we want to have honored Him as well as possible during our earthly sojourn. "To walk and to please God" must be the determined intent of our hearts, and the purpose to which we apply ourselves with fervor and dedication (I Thessalonians 4:1). Much consequence in this life and in the life to come hinges on our confidence in God's faithful working, as enabled by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit. We do not want to fail Him here, or as the Lord Jesus often warned against, to be unprepared for privileged responsibilities in the hereafter (Luke 19:13-26).
"Being confident of this very thing." Are we? If we could see God's hand in this moment, would our expectations be fulfilled? Or would we be surprised by how present, active, and involved He is in His determined purpose to further us in Christlikeness? How we answer plays a huge role in how we respond to our Heavenly Father's working. An established and growing confidence in His promised working places us in the proper frame of heart and mind whereby our response to God becomes more realized. We "live by faith" no less in our walk with God than we did in our spiritual birth. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him" (Colossians 2:6). To the degree we place our confidence in His involved presence and working will be the degree to which we "increase more and more" in a life lived for His glory and the blessing of others (I Thessalonians 4:10).
"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
(Hebrews 13:20-21)
Weekly Memory Verse
Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!
(Psalm 31:19)
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