I believe many honest Christians would admit that they are not satisfied with their current relationship with Christ. Perhaps it’s because they struggle morally in one or more areas in their life, and they can’t seem to overcome. Or maybe they feel inadequate to effectively do what they know God has called them to do in the ministry. They may not know exactly what it is, but they just know something is missing in their relationship with the Lord.
Does any of that sound like you? If yes, be encouraged. God is not finished with you yet. Here is what the Lord inspired Paul the apostle to write to the church at Philippi: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, NASB).
A Closer Look at the Verse
I believe the verse above speaks volumes about the Lord’s dealings with us during our spiritual development. To appreciate what the verse is saying, let’s look at three key words in it.
The first word is confident. We must believe without a shadow of doubt that God continues to work in our lives. Have you ever heard a Christian who has a bad temper try to justify his outbursts of rage? He may say, “I can’t help it; God made me this way.” But it’s not the will of God for His children to go about erupting into tantrums. We must pray to overcome in that area. Prayer for personal change must be undergirded by confidence that God is not finished with us. He is still working on us to become more like Christ.
The second word is began. The good work the Lord began in us is salvation. This experience does not denote spiritual maturity. In fact, when we first become saved, we don’t act much differently than we did before we met Christ. That’s because we are babes in Christ. Not knowing what to do, we do what we know. The good news is that upon salvation, the Lord provided us everything we need to become the great champion He wants us to ultimately become.
The third word is perfect. The word “perfect” in this verse means to “bring to completion.” God wants to complete the good work He has begun in you. He won’t be finished with you until the very end of your journey here. Thanks to the Lord’s salvation in our lives, we are no longer what we used to be. Moreover, because of His progressive work in our lives, neither are we yet what we are destined to become!
Trust God to Finish His Work in You
Some believers have the misconception that when a person becomes born again, he virtually walks on water. This errant thinking can cause some unbelievers who want to accept Christ to feel intimidated, thinking that being a Christian requires perfection. The truth is that Christians—even mature Christians—are not literally perfect. Sometimes genuine Christians do non-Christian like things.
Perhaps as you read this article you are not where you want to be in Christ. You may even wonder how you will ever reach spiritual maturity, based on where you currently are, and where you desire to be. But believe me, friend, God is not finished with you yet.
Don’t compare yourself with someone else. God deals with each of us differently. You may be struggling in an area that you have battled for the past decade, yet you know of new converts who had the same problem and God instantaneously delivered them at salvation.
That seems so unfair, right? Your guess is as good as mine as to why it happens that way. For example, I know believers who have been delivered from drugs and alcohol but who can’t seem to leave cigarettes alone.
But I say to you, never give up. God is not finished with you. Don’t regard your lack of progress in an area of spiritual development to mean that God wants you to remain that way. For those areas of struggle in your life, pray and seek the face of God, being confident that He began a good work in you, and He is committed to finishing that good work in you.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.