Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Have you ever lost momentum in a project your are trying to accomplish? There is plenty of energy at the beginning, but then it peter’s out. Or an obstacle arises and you can’t summon the energy or wisdom to find a way around or through the obstacle. You get stuck with an incomplete project.
I have a painting hanging in my Great Room, that isn’t finished. The trees aren’t finished and the other grasses and bushes in the foreground are not completed. And it has hung on the wall for over two years in this state. There seems to be a block between me and the canvas.
Do you have unfinished projects?
The author of our text today was writing from a Roman prison. His plans of continuing to travel around and share the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the implications for life that result from these realities, has been cut short. He is now confined to writing letters and having a few visitors. The vision for the rest of his life has been altered.
But Paul has not given up on this group of Jesus-followers in the city of Philippi. He has confidence in the process, as we would say today. The Gospel has penetrated their hearts, and he knows that the process will continue.
His confidence does not come as an assessment of their personal ability to persevere. Paul’s confidence is in the work of the Holy Spirit. He has confidence that God will not stop working on them.
But implicit in this confidence is that reality that they have not completed the project yet. They were still works in progress with a “Completed by” date still in the future. The LORD was still molding and shaping, shading and removing. They were not complete in Christ yet. They still had some rough edges to be smoothed out.
It is probably pretty easy for us to look in the mirror and see our faults. Most people know when they sin. They tend to focus on what they haven’t done rather than see what has been done.
But Paul sees the completed work even while it is still in progress. And he has confidence in the LORD’s ability to continue the work no matter what happens. He can even use human sin for His glory.
We are in the process; we are not complete yet. Our completion will only come when we are face to face with Jesus. This process, called sanctification, will continue throughout our lives. We will continue to draw closer to the LORD and as a result we will say “Yes” to Jesus and “No” to our sin to an ever increasing degree and frequency.
What are the areas in your life where a “Work in Progress” sign still hangs? Can you identify them? What keeps you from allowing the Holy Spirit to work on those areas? Or perhaps, He is working, and that is the reason for the sign. Either way, I want to encourage you to allow the LORD to continue His work in your life.
The Arnold Journey 