Being confident of this...

It's late...well that's really relative to our age isn't it? Anyway, in between the different things I've done today, I've been drawn to the words Paul wrote to the folks at Philippi...

"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. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me."

I've been amazed thinking that the God of the universe is so connected with us that He wants to not only begin a good work in us...but complete it as well...without our help. And don't forget the last part..."all of you share in God's grace with me."

That's the part that I've been thinking about...He begins and wants to complete a good work in us (salvation and beyond) and in spite of what we do, His grace is there all the time. It's not about what we can do...it's all about Him.

We can be confident when we realize that it's all about Him...He does it all, we don't have to do anything but walk in His grace...live in His grace...rest in His grace...operate in His grace...love in His grace...give His grace to others...you get the picture.

We don't have to be confident in our own strength or abilities. As I've thought about it today, I've walked a little more in freedom...freedom from myself and from my self-inflicted expectations. I've realized that the good work God has begun in me (and He wants to complete) is done by Him...not me. Quite a different view of life than what we're taught over and over again--it's all about what we do. Hmmm.

Crazy...we become more confident in His work in our lives the more we let go and let God live through us.