Intimacy with God involves finding handholds and footholds in his character – plead with him on the basis of who he is! He is faithful and he will complete the good work he has begun in you.
I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and don’t you just love this promise?
And you know it well. Philippians 1:6 tells us to be confident, in fact, of this one thing – get that? The Bible says be confident of this one thing, okay? What is it? “That he who had begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Oh, friend, he’s working on you. He’s shaping, he’s honing, he’s fulfilling his plan for you every day, fleshing it out, making it happen, slowly but surely; he’s carrying it out and he is heaven-bent on working on you until the hour you enter Glory. That’s when you will have completed his good work in your life.
You know, I remember when I was just emerging out of my depression over being paralyzed. Someone gave me this verse, Philippians 1:6, and told me that it was a promise about God’s faithfulness. Now, you have to put that promise in the context of my life at that time. I was newly injured and was trying to peer into my future. Yet it looked like a thick, black curtain hung just inches in front of my face. The appalling reality of a lifetime of paralysis was more than I could think of, more than I could bear. My faith seemed paralyzed, too. It was hard to imagine how anything good could come out of it – ever. I was convinced I’d never smile again. But then I took heart – Philippians 1:6. Like a drowning woman clutching at a life preserver, I grabbed hold of the faithfulness of God. I took hold of his tenderness and mercy. I quoted Philippians 1:6 to the Lord I don’t know how many times, asking him to fulfill his promise of completing a good – God, is it possible? Can it be good? Yes, a good – work in my life.
And you know what? I found peace. And I was confident that God, in his faithfulness, would hold himself to that promise. Charles Spurgeon once said, “You and I may take hold at anytime upon the justice, mercy, faithfulness, wisdom, longsuffering, [or] tenderness of God, and we shall find every attribute of the Most High to be, as it were, a great battering ram with which we may open the gates of heaven.” Now, okay. Obviously, Spurgeon wasn’t talking about “nuking” the gates of heaven to somehow overcome God’s reluctance or unwillingness. No, God is not an immovable meditating mystic who has to be pushed to perform his will. No, Spurgeon isn’t talking about God that way. What he’s saying is, it pleases God when we seek his glory, his will, and even his character in any given situation in our lives. And I held fast to Philippians 1:6, convinced that God would be faithful to keep his promise of doing a good work in my life. Taking hold of that promise was like taking hold of the character of God and saying, “Yes, I believe you are going to do a good work in my life, even though I cannot see it right now. But God, you’re faithful, and it is in your character to keep your word.”
Intimacy with God involves finding handholds and footholds in his character. Do you plead with him on the basis of who he is? Consider his justice, consider his mercy, his faithfulness, wisdom, purity, might, his tenderness. If you are hurting, if you’re confused, find some attribute of your great God and grab hold of it with all your might, asking him to deal with you accordingly. And if you want, start with Philippians 1:6 – he’ll complete that good work in you, carrying out to the finish line, until he calls you Home. He is that faithful. I’m happy to share this hope of Philippians 1:6 in all your hardships.
© Joni and Friends