Tuesday, January 1, 2008

He who has begun a good work

today i began my personal study of the book of philippians – a very thought-provoking sort of book. so far, two chunks of the scripture have particularly stood out to me.

philippians 1:3-11 is easily one of my favorite passages in the bible. paul takes the time to express his love for the believers in philippi. i see such an interesting contrast between how paul addresses the philippians and the galatians; “i thank my God upon every remembrance of you … making request for you all with joy” as opposed to “i marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him … o foolish galatians!” praise as opposed to rebuke. paul loves both groups of believers, but he has a special place in his heart for the philippians (“it is right for me to think this of you all, because i have you in my heart”). their fellowship in the gospel (v. 5) and love for God and for others bring him joy and encourage him, even though he can’t be with them, as he is imprisioned. he misses them greatly (v. 8), yet he is excited to see how God is going to work in their lives (v. 6). in verses 9-11, he prays for particular characteristics to grow and mature in them. i love how he wraps it up in verse 11: “to the glory and praise of God.” he spends a lot of time praising the philippians, but in the end, he reminds them that it is all for the glory of God.

i have people like this in my life – friends who i am so amazingly thankful for because of their faithfulness to the Lord. when i think about them, i grow excited as i imagine all the amazing things that God is going to do in their lives, all the ways that He is going to bless them. and i believe so completely what paul says in verse 6, that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God has perfect and glorious plans for those who love Him, and i’m so blessed to know that i can witness some of those plans in the lives of some of my most beloved friends.

the second passage of philippians that stood out to me was verses 12-18 of the same chapter, mainly verse 12. paul starts off by encouraging the philippians, as they are likely concerned for him as he’s imprisoned. the words he offers are so amazing, and hard to believe that they come from the heart of a man who is chained up in jail. “the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” instead of complaining or asking them to pray that he will be delivered from jail, he chooses to view his trial as a blessing. he goes on to explain that everyone in the palace guard can see how God is working, and that other believers are becoming more bold about preaching and living the gospel when they see how paul is handling everything.

i was struck by verse 12, how paul responds to the difficulties he finds himself in. there’s not much that’s worse than being in jail. and yet paul only speaks of how glad he is that his trying circumstances are furthering the gospel, glorifying God. and my thought is this: if paul can praise God while he has chains around his wrists and ankles, then certainly i can praise Him in my circumstances.

i pray that i will always be thankful for both my friends and for the trials that my Lord puts me though. in both, He can be greatly glorified.

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