In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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. Philippians 1:4-6 (NIV)
We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 2 Corinthians 4:14-17 (NLT)
For Reflection:
Renewal. Hope. Glory.
“He who began a good work in you…” When God created us he called it good. On good days I believe this. I can feel God’s love despite my imperfections, see the gifts God has given me, the needs I have and hold hope that he will carry me into his goodness. On bad days, self-pity dwells on my hard circumstances or self-deprecation points to every fault, every bad habit I can’t seem to shake, every character flaw, every sin ends in shame. Stuck in pity and shame I feel no hope, there is no room for good or grace, no vision for the coming glory. Can you relate? What thoughts tend to pull you away from hope? The truth is that these very troubles are the ones God promises to turn to glory. No matter what mess we have made or hard circumstances we have found ourselves in - God is loving us, he began a good work, and he continues renewing us. Every. Day.
These truths are hope. When our identity is rooted in the good work God began, then there is hope for it to continue. When our troubles are promised to pale in the comparison to the coming glory, renewal seems possible. My thoughts can be fickle and sometimes it feels as if I waffle between dwelling in God’s truth and dwelling in my own shame in equal measure. But as I weave these truths into my thought patterns, and come back to them again and again, as I dwell on God’s love and allow him to penetrate my heart, I find myself being renewed. I find myself more and more in my best days. The ones where I find that this isn’t about me at all. My actions, my flaws, my skills, my sins, my circumstances are proportionately irrelevant when I am experiencing God’s presence and power, the good work he is doing in and around me, the renewal he is bringing that I get to be a part of and the glory that is coming. Here, I am anchored in hope for renewal, for goodness, for grace, for thanksgiving, for God’s glory to come in me and the world.
What kind of day is it for you today? Where is your focus? Are you able to see the renewal of your spirit and God’s good work in you? How might you anchor more and more hope into his renewal of all things? What might this change in your life?
Let us pray:
Dear God, you created me with a whole array of thoughts and feelings. You know that some days feel harder than others. Regardless of my circumstances or my particular mood, I plead to stay anchored in hope for your glory. Give me hope in the goodness that has been, is now and is yet to come; hope in your faithfulness to stick with me, to continue to direct my path, to renew me and to carry me onto completion. Give me persistent hope in your love that has overcome the world. Amen.
I wonder how anchoring in hope of God’s glory impacts my thoughts, feelings and actions.