The Basis of Our Confidence

UV 609/10,000 The Basis of Our Confidence “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 v 6 Our confidence is not in flesh and blood. Our confidence is not in money or wealth. Our confidence is not in power and influence. Our confidence is in Christ Jesus that He is true to His Word and faithful to His flock. Our hope and faith gives us confidence. Our confidence is that He is able to strengthen us from within to do all things that we need to do to fulfill His plan and purpose for our lives. Our confidence is that He will meet every need. We affirm that “ the Lord is our shepherd. I shall not want.” Our confidence is that He will enable us to succeed in our plans. We need to go the extra mile with an extra smile. We need not get frustrated and dejected when we encounter roadblocks or obstacles or failures on our way to our goals. The word used is “ being” and not “ becoming” confident. Our confidence is an offshoot of our faith. It is a supernatural grace, a gift of the Holy Spirit. The word “ confidence” comes from the root “ to confide” which means to trust. It is because Christ is trustworthy, we are confident He will complete the good work of faith that He has begun in us. He will take us now to the logical conclusion of our faith. He will present us blameless or blemishless before the Father in heaven on the day of reckoning. Our confidence is in the Word and promises of God to that effect. Many of the greatest artists and sculptors have left behind a number of unfinished works. But, the Lord God completes every work He starts. He obviously gives as much if not more importance to finishing well as to starting a good work. He is the Alpha and Omega, implying that from beginning to end, the Lord takes responsibility to shape our lives, our character and our destiny. In Christ we are complete despite all our weaknesses and failings. Every true story recounted in the Bible speaks of completion. Nothing is left hanging mid-air. God’s purpose in each person’s life is fulfilled in His time whether it was Abraham, Moses, David or Peter. I have set myself a target to write 10,000 pages on 10,000 uni-verses in the course of the rest of my lifetime at the rate of one verse per day. Some might doubt whether I will be able to do so, whether I will show the kind of discipline needed for the rest of my days and whether I will live long enough to do so. But, the basis of my confidence is that the Lord, who began this good work in and through me and the one who has enabled me to keep at it for 609 days so far, will enable me to do so. Prateep V Philip