It's More About Him Than We Realize

If you didn't catch the previous post, you may want to read it first. Click HERE.

When we read a verse like Philippians 1:6, our "American-Christian" culture has unfortunately taught us how to make this verse easy for us to read and apply to our lives. While this verse can bring some comfort to us when life is going tough, I believe there's much more to it than that. Therefore, I'm going to challenge you to consider something much different when you read this verse. Specifically today, I'm focusing on the part of the verse that says, "He who began a good work in you."

Two things I need to point out about this phrase...

1) He
Don't miss this! We have been trained to think that our walk with God not only begins with us, but also revolves around us. The dangerous choice that many Christians make (myself included) is to think that God is more concerned with our plans than His plans. Don't get me wrong, God greatly cares about you and genuinely loves you. I'm not downplaying this truth. However, we can't lose sight of the fact that God doesn't "need" us. He isn't dependent upon us. God will still be God whether we acknowledge Him or not. On the other hand, I promise you that you won't be you if God doesn't acknowledge you. He hasn't left us here on this earth just so He can answer our prayers and fix our problems. His ultimate mission is to redeem His creation back to Himself! So remember, He first reached out to you. He saved you. He loves you, and He wants to work through your life to restore the brokenness in the lives around you. That is His #1 priority.

2) Began a Good Work
The obvious question might be... "What is the good work?" Well, if we read this within the true context of Scripture, this good work refers to the things God is doing in our lives to make us more like Christ so we can better lead others towards Him. This good work isn't necessarily giving us a better job or a passing grade on a test.

I encourage you to read the verses following Philippians 1:6, specifically verses 8-11. Paul isn't praying that the Philippians get a good education or make it through their day on time to get home to their favorite TV show. Pay attention to the phrases and words He is using:

-love that abounds more and more,
-real knowledge,
-discernment,
-sincere,
-blameless,
-righteousness,
-to the glory and praise of God.

The work God is trying to do in our lives is far greater than we know. If you are tired of going through the motions, give God a chance to freely and fully invade your life!