God Starts . . . and Finishes
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. - (Romans 8:28)
There are times in our lives as Christians when God will do things or fail to do things that we want Him to do, and it won’t make a bit of sense to us. And because we don’t see the big picture, we may falsely conclude that God has abandoned us. But we need to trust Him during these times, remembering that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. In other words, what God starts, He completes.
Remember that wonderful word from the first chapter of Philippians? “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears” (Philippians 1:6, MSG).
It seems as I get older, I get distracted and forget things all the time. But what if God forgot about us? What a frightening thought. Imagine being in the midst of a fiery trial as God is watching and waiting for that moment to take us out of it. Then the phone rings, and He’s gone for a decade! Thankfully, God never forgets about us. He remains — forever and ever — in full control. He knows exactly what He is doing. He will complete what He has begun.
Sometimes in the middle of that process, we may think the Lord is missing it. But He isn’t. We’re the ones who are missing it. From our limited human viewpoint, we think of the temporal, but God lives in the eternal. We are thinking of today, but God is planning for tomorrow . . . in fact, He’s already been there. We are thinking of comfort, but God is thinking of character. We are thinking of an easy time, but God is thinking of how to make us better people.
So let’s trust Him. Whatever our circumstances or hardships, let’s believe His promise to His children: all things are working together.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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When God doesn’t make sense, when it seems that He is asleep, when it feels like He doesn’t care, we must remind ourselves of His promises. Going back to God’s promises, we find something that we desperately need in those hard times: perspective.
That eternal perspective is the focus of Dr. James Dobson’s book When God Doesn’t Make Sense, which we’re offering as a thank-you to anyone who gives a gift of support to Harvest Ministries this month.
