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. (Phil. 1:6) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Heb. 12:2) And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)
Gracious Father, today, like every day, is a great day to be remember that “salvation is of the Lord.” You’re the one who began the “good work” of redemption in our lives; the one who’s carrying it on, even when you’re not working according to our timetable and agenda; and, you’re the one who’ll complete our redemption on the Day Jesus returns to finish making all things new. From beginning to end, salvation is all of grace—all one glorious manifestation of your irrepressible mercy and sovereign might.
This is incredibly good news, as I ponder my story and the people you’ve placed in my life; but it also confronts my pride and unbelief. I can’t be my own savior, and neither can I be anyone else’s savior. There are no co-redeemers, there’s just Jesus, hallelujah. The pressure is off, but give me grace to love well, Father. To give up trying to change and fix people is not to give up on people, but to abandon ourselves to you.
Father, give me the same confidence for others (and for myself) you gave Paul for the Philippians—that you will complete what you begin. Sometimes irritation, worry, and fear loom larger in my life than patience, trust, and hope. When this happens, I’m not a good friend and people feel pressure to change. Teach me how to wrestle in confident prayer for others, like Epaphras, who wrestled in prayer for the believers in Colossae (Col. 4:12). My prayerlessness is a glaring rebuke to how little I trust you to do what you alone can do.
Keep me tender enough to engage in broken stories, without getting entangled in things that have nothing to do with me. Give me the grace to stay present, and the strength to listen, listen, listen. Only the gospel is sufficient for the demands of loving well, so I abandon myself to you and your resources today. Help me see others as you see them, Father, and help me to love them as Jesus loves me. So very Amen, I pray in Jesus’ compassionate and faithful name.