A devotional by Kerry Sue Teravskis
“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 1:6 (NIV)
It’s hard to be confident in our comparison-heavy society.
Mustering up courage is a monumental feat. Standing your ground in knowing that God is true, faithful and for us, can be a challenge. We can succumb to the challenge more than we realize.
Not that we intentionally succumb, but we allow ourselves to entertain subtle lies from the enemy that erode our confidence in God.
How can we overcome? For starters, we can note the promises of God as we find them in Scripture and record them in an accessible place to go to when the doubts or lies creep in. We need to immerse ourselves in the Truth.
Once we have this going, we can begin to see what God is capable of and is already doing in our lives for His glory. One of those things is working good in us. He is doing a good work in us. He is molding us and making us into the image of His Son. He is sloughing off the rough edges and causing us to shine more brilliant with His light.
He is allowing us to be a broken vessel so more light will shine through to reach more people, the people who need to hear how God is working through each of us. Our story may not be for everyone, but that is God’s decision. We need to be a willing vessel to let Him work in us.
I will admit being a broken vessel is painful. I’ve been in suffering for more than three years and it does not get easier with each passing day. It gets harder. New realities set in, old habits die hard and expectations either go unmet or unnoticed.
But God allows brokenness in us to shine His light brighter. It is when we are weak, He is strong in us. When we admit our weakness and boast about our weaknesses as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, we boast so the power of Jesus Christ may rest upon us. We admit our brokenness to a lost and hurting world so God can use our vulnerability to minister to others.
Aren’t you more attracted to the one who is vulnerable, weak and honest? Doesn’t the mere message of humility shine forth from one who recognizes God’s work and knows this work is good?
God’s work is good. It may be hard. Even excruciating, but it is good. Our loving Father calls it good. If we look closely at Philippians 1:6, we see that He is working in us. Circumstances can be quite difficult around us, but God will use them to do the good work in our hearts, minds, souls and strength. He is causing all things to work together for our good through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:28).
He is good and does good things for our good (Psalm 119:68). And He is working good in our hearts. That’s a lot of good. I happen to circle the word good every time I see it in my Bible because I want to see it and remember and be comforted in knowing His goodness is here for me.
With God working good in us, one fruit displayed by the Spirit is goodness (Galatians 5:22) pouring out for all to see. By walking in the Spirit and allowing God to have access to our hearts, we in turn can be used as a light with fruit demonstrating to others the good work He is doing in our lives. God is continuing this work and will not be done until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6).
What God has set out to do He will complete, and He will do this in His goodness.
Let’s Pray: Father God, thank You for being good. This is so reassuring in this topsy-turvy world because I can trust in Your faithfulness to be the same, always. May I allow You to carry on the good work in my life and may I truly boast of my weaknesses and my brokenness so Your light will shine brighter to those around. May my thoughts center on You and Your goodness and not on my brokenness because I truly want all the glory to be Yours. In the Name of Your Son, Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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Song of Reflection: “All Things Are Working” by Fred Hammond. Listen to it here.
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Author Bio:
As a wife and Marmee to three adult children and one brand new daughter-in-love, Kerry Sue’s life is very full. She met her husband in college and served in the mission field with him for a few years before settling down back in the United States of America to raise their family.
Kerry Sue’s family was a homeschooling family for 20 years and they enjoyed it immensely. For the last 23 years they have lived on a small farm in Northern California where they have raised many farm animals, along with growing and preserving their food. Kerry Sue’s family farm has been a great source of enjoyment and a place to host many family gatherings. She maintains an open-door policy for dear friends—old and new.
Following and serving Jesus Christ is an integral part of Kerry Sue’s life as well as her family’s.
Whether it’s singing in our church choir, teaching children or leading and lecturing at a women’s Bible study, Kerry Sue loves to demonstrate her love for Jesus by giving to Him in service. She’s been a blogger for more than eight years, a Bible study writer for two years, and a devotional writer for about one year.
Kerry Sue writes about finding God’s Sovereignty in our pain and suffering.
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Connect with Kerry:
Blog: https://www.sovereignblog.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerry.teravskis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ksteravskis/
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