Daily Devotionals
May 26, 2020
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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 1:3–6
I had a bad day. Ever have one of those? The things I needed to get done overwhelmed me. My attention to details was non-existent. The few things I tried to accomplish just didn’t work out. I said the wrong thing to someone. I misunderstood what was asked of me. I spent time on something that turned out all wrong. Yes, it was just a bad day.
Sometimes I get discouraged. The challenging truth that right now our world seems upside-down just makes everything worse. I think all of us have a bad day from time-to-time; some of us more often than others.
The words of Philippians 1 are a great encouragement to me. Paul wrote to people who were imperfect. People just like me. He stated that he was thankful to God for them. He told them that he prayed for them and remembered good things about them. Then in verse 6 he reminds them (and me) of something very important: God isn’t finished with us yet. And He intends to make complete in me the things that He started.
Having a bad day is not the end of the world. It happens to all of us. Letting a bad day ruin my outlook or cause me to question my value is not the right answer. We all need to be reminded that God’s Holy Spirit is at work, encouraging us to grow and helping us to be a little more like Jesus each day. Some days I see that and celebrate it. But even when I don’t see it, God is still at work. He is always faithful to us and always loves us. He is bigger than the circumstances of our bad days. And He is patiently, carefully at work in us, growing us each day to be the mature Christ-ones He designed us to be.
For Reflection
What is it about bad days that makes us lose our focus on God? How does remembering that God is at work give you encouragement on a bad day?
How can you learn to see some of the specific ways God is at work in your life?
How can you trust God to bring to completion the work He started in you?
Prayer
Lord God, on good days and bad days, I thank You that You are always with me and never leave me. Help me trust the work You are doing in me, even when I don’t always see it. I give this day to You and ask You to continue Your work in me. Amen.
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