Be 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 KJV

Each new day is an opportunity to begin again. Maybe you’ve set out to accomplish something and encountered difficulties along the way. You have felt like giving up, but you find the strength to go on, for you know that giving up is not an option.

At some point in our lives, we all began a new journey when we accepted Christ as our Savior. We were filled with joy, love for the Lord and love for His people. But as time passed, we faced challenges, rejection, trials, disappointments and persecutions, which sometimes brought about doubt and confusion. Even though the word of God warned us of this, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you – 1 Peter 4:12 KJV, yet it still shakes us at times.

However, we know that we must continue to press towards the mark of the high calling – Philippians 3:14. We must know that God will never leave, forsake or abandon us – Hebrews 13:5. Many times we may look at our lives and feel like we are not making enough progress in our spiritual life. We may still see areas in our lives that have not yet been perfected. We may still see weaknesses, shortcomings and faults. Sometimes we look at others and judge ourselves. God did not call us to do that, to judge ourselves by others’ lives. We are to look only to Him, Yeshua, God the Father. Our salvation is through Yeshua and not man.

We must know, and I stress, must know, as the scripture of today says, we must be confident. Confident of what? Confident that God who began the good work in us will perform it until the day of the Lord. It’s knowing that He will. You see, it’s not man or even you, yourself, who began the good work, it was God who did. That means we need not rely on our own strength. We must look to and remain focus on the One who began the good work. Scripture tells us, Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts – Zechariah 4:6 KJV.

That good work is us becoming more like Christ, working out our salvation. Though we have a part to play, God knows how the good work must be done in us. Stop beating up on yourself and accept God’s grace, for He is the One who will help you to grow. Nothing grows overnight. Be patient with yourself. Yet, allow God to continue the good work in you. Yield to Him! When God starts something, He does not go halfway. He finishes what He started.

For this new year, don’t let your present, imperfect condition rob you of the joy of knowing Yeshua or becoming more like Him. Put your confidence in Him! Don’t draw back but draw closer to Him! Remain confident! Also read 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 5:23-24