BEGIN WELL / END WELL

Meditating on three passages from Paul, Galatians 3:1-14, Romans 8:1-15 and Hebrews 3:7-19, there are many revelations that can come to you by the Spirit of God.  One He revealed to me is as follows.

Hebrews 3:14 says, “We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast until the end.”

 You can partake of whatever it is Christ has purchased for you, if you hold onto your confidence in Him.  This means that there was a confident faith that you had at the beginning.  When God first revealed His answer to you in Christ, faith rose in your heart to receive the promise.  And you began well.

If you have not received the final manifestation of your answer, then there is a need for you to hold onto your confident faith.  The same confidence you had at the beginning is what you need to finally partake of what Christ has purchased for you.

At the beginning you had faith because you heard God’s word for you by the Spirit.

Look at Galatians 3:1-5.  Paul asks, “Are you so foolish?  Having begun in the Spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh?”

When you began in confident faith, you were in Christ; you began in the Spirit.  Now you must hold that same confidence stedfast.  Here is where the test begins.  As you follow Christ, you find yourself in a boat in the middle of the sea.  The enemy stirs up the wind and the waves and tells you God has failed you and you are going to die.

But what did God say to you at the beginning that gave you the confidence to begin this journey?  God’s word is still true!  Hold onto your confidence and you will be a partaker of Christ.  Faith receives the promise (Galatians 3:14).

The enemy lies.  He says, “Okay.  In faith you began well.  But now you must prove you are worthy to receive the promise.  Here is a list of things you must do.  Do all these and then maybe God will give you the promised blessing.”  He manipulates you to finish in the flesh.

This produces nothing.  The enemy then says, “See.  God did not tell you the truth.  You are not going to receive anything.  You are a fool.  Why do you listen to those foolish preachers?  There are ways you can have what you want.  Come with me and I will show you.”

And he does all he can to make the problem worse.  He speaks words of fear; words that cause you to lose your confidence in God’s word and God’s trustworthiness.  “You cannot trust God.”

Or he might say, “Other people receive the promise because they hear God.  You do not really hear God, so you will not receive anything.”

The devil will never confirm God’s word to you.  He wants you to err in your heart and turn away from God.  This is when you must remember Romans 8:5.  Do not focus on what your flesh wants.  Focus on what the Spirit wants.  Learn to be led by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

If you listen to your fears and the enemy’s lies about God, you will not hear God’s voice.  Your flesh will cry out, “Run!  Hide!  Protect your self!”

The enemy has been watching you a long time.  He knows how to push your buttons.  He will speak a bad report.  He will stir up your fears and your anger.  He will try to prompt your automatic reactions to pull you out of faith.

God, on the other hand, will use this situation to teach you how to walk in faith.  He will show you how you are easily led astray and encourage you to trust His word.  He will not condemn you or push you to obey His will.  Instead, He will remind you that He is with you and will love you, even if you fail.

Focus on what God has said.  Focus on the Spirit and what He wants.  If you will hear God’s voice, do not harden your heart in fear or self-protection.

Wait for God in stedfast confidence in His word and He will deliver you.  He will bring you to the expected end.  Led by the Spirit, you will be a partaker of Christ.  You can begin well and you can also end well.

How?   By the hearing of faith (Galatians 3:5)!

Meditate on these passages of scripture.  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and show you how they apply to your life right now.  You are no fool!  You have Christ.  You can end as well as you began by the Spirit of God.

 

COMMENTS: Begin Well/End Well

 

Submitted on 2012/11/09 at 8:36 PM

Hi! Do
you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.