And I am sure of this!

Philippians 1:6

Verse six begins in this way, “And I am sure of this,” and my mind kicked in gear and this question came to the forefront of my mind; what am I sure of?  I’m not even sure of finishing this thought; much less what will happen tomorrow, next week, or on November 2nd.  I’m not sure the people of this nation will choose freedom over handouts, I’m not sure I will not be put into prison for believing that Jesus Christ tells the truth, when He said “I am the only way to the Father.”  In fact I’m not sure that we will survive the evil government of this administration, I am not sure that our currency will have any value or that we will not have anarchy.  It could be stated correctly, that being uncertain is a fact of life of the normal man.

I find some comfort in reading the uncertainty of the congregation as they listen to the report of the spies that were sent to spy out the land of Canaan.  The report began in a positive way, “it is a land flowing with milk and honey,” and they showed them the kind of fruit the land produced, but yes, we are like grasshoppers to them because they are   giants.  When uncertainty kicks end to high gear, the congregation is controlled by fear, and fear leads them to returning to the known, and it matters not if that place of being comfortable was being a slave in Egypt.  That is the first thing the congregation wanted was the norm, listen, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”  (Numbers 14:4)  Not one person said, “Are you nuts” what is the best we can hope for in Egypt, being a slave.  Two of the spies spoke up, Joshua and Caleb said, “If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.” (Numbers 14:8)  These two wise spies also saw giants, but they had watched God part the red sea, bring water from a rock, fight the many enemies in the land, they were sure of this; God is worthy of our trust.

There is so much that I am not sure of, but I am sure of this, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ God’s only Son came to set the captive free, and He found me bound in sin, and it was His grace, His faith that He extended to me, that I was able to trust in and believe in His action on the cross; the shedding of His blood that paid for my sin.  The apostle Paul had this to say near the end life on planet earth, “That is why I am suffering as I am.  Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him at the last day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

When I live out the promises of God, I live free, I live a full life, it matters not the circumstances I find myself in, for I am sure of this, “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  Man has no prisons that can hold the Christian who knows that truth.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice