“I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Phil. 1:6
Gracious Father, our salvation is a work we didn’t begin, and you alone can finish. It’s impossible to morally perform our way out of sin or religiously earn our way into your love. From beginning to end—our salvation is 100% by your grace for your glory. We bring desperation to “the table,” but you bring Jesus’ resurrection and righteousness. Hallelujah, and thank you. Because of your generosity and tenacity, one Day we will be as loving and as lovely as Jesus—as hard as that is for us to fathom. This gives us a serenity we can’t get anywhere else.
But on this January, Wednesday, early 2026, I am equally grateful for your commitment to finish the “good work” you began throughout creation. One Day everything … everywhere … all the time is going to be filled with your glory, beauty, goodness, and perfection. The entire cosmos, as Paul wrote in Romans 8, is “in the labors pains of childbirth”—awaiting the Day it will be “liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Rom.8:18-22).
This means, among other things, that there is an expiration date on all political madness, avarice, and arrogance. You laugh while earth’s kings plot, conspire, and pretend like you don’t exist (Psalm 2). Help us hear your laugh, Father. It will keep us sane as we await the Day for Jesus’ Kingdom to come in fullness.
Speaking of expiration dates—death itself is going to die (1Cor.15:26). Many of us attended too many funerals in 2025, and already some in 2026. The “good work” you will finish also means no more human or drug trafficking; no more exploitation and abuse; no more trauma triggers or trauma itself; no more cancer cells, brain disorders, or heart disease. Father, I SO needed to be reminded of all of this today. Thank you, and So Very Amen.
