Monday, 02 June 2008 00:00 | and posted in Faith
I quoted Philippians 1:6 to a guy called Mike who I was praying for a couple of months ago and he found it really encouraging. People nearly always do.
In fact it's one of those verses that are easy to misuse. Many times in the past I have slipped it into my prayers so I sounded "spiritual" or to cause an emotional reaction in the person I was praying for. Both were about selfish gain rather than a desire to share God's love and blessing with another. Slowly I am learning to pray over people only what God prompts me to say.
God prompted me to pray Philippians 1:6 over Mike and I only remember it because of the thought I had afterwards. I don't think I get it. That was my realisation. Ironically after misusing it for years I realised I didn't connect fully with why this verse is so encouraging. What was Paul saying?
Now, I know, this seems a strange thing to realise. On the surface the verse seems quite self-explanatory, but it got me mulling it over anyway.
I find this verse encouraging because it reminds me that God is at work. It says that God is actively involved in my life; that he's interested in me. Sometimes I have a hard time believing these things. Sometimes I believe the lie that the issues and circumstances in my life are too big for God to sort out.
However, it was the inclusion of the word good that stumped me. All God's works are good and Paul (in my reading) doesn't waste words, so why is it in there? In my understanding of this verse it would have been just as encouraging if Paul had merely said: being confident of this, that God is working in you and will continue to do so until the day of Christ Jesus. Not only did good seem to be surplus, the ideas of beginning and completing seemed to be too. Was there a link between their inclusions?
It took someone else to point out to me the link with the creation story - a beginning, a good work and a completion, it seems so obvious now! The deliberate language of verse 6 is Paul linking our personal and corporate transformation with the image of the awesome universe creating power of God being unleashed inside of us.
No wonder Paul is confident! He believed that the creative personality behind the universe was working inside the Philippians, developing their characters, breaking addictions, transforming identities and forming community. No issue or circumstance is too big as God speaks light into the darkness of our lives, brings order out of the chaos and proclaims freedom where we live in captivity.
What if
we
believed
this?