Philippians 1:6 AMP
[6] I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return]. [Rom 14:10]
There is no doubt that God is at work in man. You cannot look at what the world offers and not admit that there is a supreme power at work. Paul was also a man who had a past that was not palatable, but at the time he was writing the words of the verse above, he had seen God at work and was now converted. He was a man that had so gone quite far down the drain that men feared him, yet when God took hold of him, he became a changed man. That is what the presence and power of God can do in a man's life. He takes the entire baggage, and the history of my life that is not so palatable, and then makes a message out of these. He takes all my pain and turns it to His tool to bring out His purpose and plan. However, as awesome as the above may sound, the limit will be my own choices and decisions. God will not force Himself on anyone, or go against the exercise of my freewill.
This was why Paul could be quite confident of who God is, in the light of who Paul was now. It is only a man who has been convicted or convinced of who God is, or what God can do, that can then pass on the assurance of this confidence to other people. Paul was now an evangelist for Christ, and he had learnt a lot of things from this walk of faith, and this verse is one of the many things he was now totally convinced of. This truth is that only in Christ can a man be kept truly safe. No man can do the things that only God can do. No man can give you that which only God can give you. He is the God of absolute knowledge, who cannot be deceived by pretence, eye-service of hypocrisy of any kind. This truth is that no one can secure for you that which he did not originate. The one who designs and develops is the one with the capacity and knowledge to know how and where best to deploy that which has been made.
That is why, under normal circumstances, you do not place a fully functional and electrified television set into water. That would be the end of the TV and/or the person handling the TV. That was not the ideal place for the full and optimal performance of that TV. For each person made by God, there is a place and platform for the ideal manifestation of the gift of God in that life. God has not yet made that life that He has no plan for, and He is yet to make a life that will ever become reckless and uncontrollable. The originator is also the One who concludes. The one who starts is also the one who is best placed to finish. A day comes soon that will be the end of the work of God in a man's life on this side of eternity. It is a day that will reveal the one to whom you are truly surrendered. That day is not the day to be sure; you have to be sure now, while there is still time. Make sure that the work of God has started in you, so you can be sure of a good finish, on the day of Christ. God's time of favour is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment