God is Getting You Ready
Being confident of this very thing, that He Who has begun a good work in you will perform it (complete it) until the Day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
The Wilderness Experience
If we are not careful, it is possible to lose sight of where we are going because of being blinded by where we are. That happens when we allow current events to sabotage our future. We must remember that God owns us and has a vested interest in our wellbeing. We must remember that God has a place for us beyond the troubles. Also remember that God has a process of preparing us for the future and the world to come.
When the Children of Israel, the Hebrews, left Egypt, their minds were focused on the Land of milk and honey. This made the wilderness look less appealing to many of those that had escaped bondage. As a result, many were blinded by the wilderness experience and gave up on their faith. They complained about the food they ate. They complained about the length of the journey. They even complained about Moses and Aaron leading them. They had lost sight of faith and how God was using the wilderness experience to mold and shape them for the Promised Land. They did not realize that God was getting them ready as He had gotten the Land ready.
In a similar way, the challenges we face in life are a kind of ‘Wilderness Experience’ that prepares and disciplines us. Many lose sight of God in their moments of challenge because they expected things to be easy or not to have taken so long. God never promised an easy road through the wilderness. As a matter of fact, God challenges us in those times for several reasons. One reason is to make our faith stronger so that we rely on God and not our own abilities. It makes sense that He would bring us into situations that are beyond our strength so that we would depend upon Him. God also allows these challenges to remind us that He is with us as we journey through the wilderness. It’s interesting how some Hebrews did not get close to God, because of their own lack of trust. Yet some drew closer to God and were confident that He would deliver them from evil. There is also the wilderness benefit of training. Interesting that God would use actual trials for our training. Now the training we receive is not to bring out our best; the training for the Child of God is to bring out God’s anointing for God’s Glory. The more we face trials beyond our capacity, God causes His power to be revealed in us. In James 1:2-4 we learn to count it all joy when you fall into various trials … knowing the testing of your faith works patience … let patience complete its work, so that you may be perfect and lacking nothing. Yes, God uses the wilderness challenge to show that His power is working in us both to will and do of His good pleasure. God trains us in the wilderness.
When I served in the military in the 1970s, it was common to have drills and exercises to prepare the troops for emergencies and times of war. Unfortunately, the more drills that were conducted, the less the soldiers took the exercises seriously. One Commanding Officer at the base I served, decided he would get every soldier’s attention by using live munitions for the bomb drills. Sure enough, on the day of the drills, there were many expecting the usual announcement of “this is a drill and a simulated bomb has just exploded.” On this day, a real bomb exploded and it shook each of us to the point that we took our duties seriously. When God prepares His Children, he does not use simulated struggles and simulated trials because He does not want simulated prayers or simulated faith. God uses “live munitions” so that we will take our relationship with Him seriously. By the way, when you get out of the trial – you give God real praise for victory in Christ. God prepares us by bringing us into the trial and then granting victory over the trial. Make no mistake, you and I are being prepared for something greater than a trial, we are being prepared for glory. Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it (complete it) until the Day of Jesus Christ.
Getting Ready Now
How does our being prepared for future glory tie into our study on Truth and what we are now witnessing as the erosion of Truth or Truth decay? God’s process of preparing believers for future glory keeps us from following every wind of doctrine. If believers are focused on future glory with God, they will become less entangled with the affairs of this world. That does not mean we are disengaged from service and irresponsible in our daily living. O no! It means that our motive for doing things now is God’s glory and not earthly recognition of riches, fame, or pride.
People who fall victim to truth decay believe their way is right and everyone else is wrong. They demand to be heard and believe that anger justifies their actions. Basically, they believe that the god of self is greater than the God of Glory. Their focus is on comfort, pleasure, and getting their way.
People who fall victim to truth decay have a faulty understanding of God. They believe that God exists to make them happy. If God does not make them happy, they stop following and ultimately stop believing that God is real. Needless to say, when truth decay victims find themselves in trouble or when things don’t go their way, they resort to violence, indulgence, or self-pity for consolation.
People who fall victim to truth decay also have a faulty view of the after-life. They believe that everyone goes to Heaven when they die. When you ask them the basis of their belief, they simply say, “that’s my belief.” But that is not what the Bible teaches. All who die do not go to Heaven. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. If everyone goes to Heaven automatically then why did Jesus come into the world to save us from sin? If everyone goes to Heaven automatically, then why did Jesus give His life on the cross so we could have eternal life through Him. If everyone went to Heaven automatically, what is the purpose of the Holy Spirit guidance? It is truth decay that has people believing “all roads lead to Heaven.” That is not true. God must prepare you for that place.
Here is God’s process. Paul expressed it so eloquently, Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it (complete it) until the Day of Jesus Christ. The truth tells us that there is a special event in time called the Day of Jesus Christ. This Day is set by God Almighty and cannot be altered, postponed, rescheduled, or cancelled. It will happen. God wants us prepared for that Great Day. In the old Church we would sing, “There’s a Great Day coming – a Great Day coming, there’s a Great Day coming by and by.” The refrain would be “Are you ready, are you ready, are you ready for that Great Day?” The only way to be ready is for God to make us ready.
If it were a matter of simply going to Heaven, we would miss an opportunity for God to do a “great work” in us. The verse brings out the Word “He that has begun.” I’m glad it’s He and not me. I’m not the one doing the work because I did not start it. God got it started at the day of Redemption and it will not end until the Day of Jesus Christ. I know that seems like a long time, but if the work is good, it will take a while. Diamonds take years to form in the bowels of the earth. It takes time to mold the character and life of a true believer. We must not become weary, but rather hold still while God works on His masterpiece. It is God that works in us according to His Will. One thing is for sure, there will be no incomplete works in Heaven.
The art world was stunned some years back when several paintings that were thought to be originals of Leonardo DaVinci turned out to be works of his students. Some collectors paid large sums of money under the impression that they had an original only to find out, it was not an original. It was a painting for sure, but it did not bear the signature work of the artist. Not so with the Child of God; ours will be an original work of the Holy Spirit’s power. We will bear the seal of God’s goodness, His Grace, and His perfect work of transformation.
The work in us will be un-mistakenly, God’s work. The work is set to be revealed on the Day of Jesus Christ. Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it (complete it) until the Day of Jesus Christ. God will finish the work that He started. This points to the patience of God as He works in us. As humans we have the tendency to argue with God. We become brash against God because it is not happening quickly or God uses sharp trials in His work. But the Master has everything under control. The question comes to me, what can we do in this process?
If we are to assist God in any way our role would be to be patient, to be prayerful, and to be pliable. I have discovered a process that works wonderfully in all three of these areas. It is called becoming more grateful. Gratitude shows that I am thankful to God for the work that He is doing. Gratitude forces me to be patient as God performs His work of costly perfection in me. Gratitude assigns all the honor to God and God alone. Gratitude reminds me that He is still working. I have a saying that I apply: I am more grateful than hateful. The lesson learned thus far is now I know how hateful I have been.
Let God complete His work in you.