Success Even in Failure

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:6 NKJV)

Noah Webster 1828 dictionary defines confident as: “Having full belief; trusting; relying; fully assured; positive; trusting; without suspicion; bold; having an excess of assurance.”

When we combine that definition with the above verse, and the thing in which we are to have that kind of confidence, the power of Paul’s statement becomes staggering.  We are to have full trust, without any hint of suspicion that it is not true, in an excess of assurance that what God started in us at the moment we first believed, He will complete – that is bring to fullness – until we see Jesus face to face.  That means that every single day we spend on this earth after the fact – after giving our whole heart to Christ – is one in which we are being molded, shaped, tried, tested, and redesigned into the plan God has for us that was in place before the foundation of the world. 

This truth ought to bring comfort and peace to our hearts as we walk through difficult times and internal battles.  Paul is assuring us that regardless of how much it feels like we are losing the battle, the reality is, we are simply in a war that has already been won.  And with every skirmish, every struggle, every disappointment and perceived failure, we are gaining ground.  We are coming to the realization that in our own strength, we will always lose, but in the strength of God, we are more than conquerors.  And one day, we step back and realize that the true battle was not against the devil, evil, or any outside person.  The real victory was gaining the knowledge given to us in this very verse – that it is Christ who will make us fit for the Kingdom, not any good thing we might think we have to offer Him of ourselves.  That through Christ I can do all things but apart from Him I have nothing to offer.  The quicker we get to that point, the faster we can throw up the white flag of surrender and become real warriors in the Lord’s army.  We become true seasoned saints who understand the power we embrace when we let go of our need to control our world and “do” great things for God.  Instead, we allow Him to use us in whatever way He finds profitable, even if it means serving Him in the most mundane and ordinary ways. 

Today, I will choose to submit my will to Christ in all things so that He will receive the glory for whatever happens to me today – whether I perceive that I have won or lost – because it is the obedience He looks for – not the outcome of the battle.  That reality brings a whole new meaning to the verse, “For me to live is Christ; to die is gain.”  Whether I walk forward in the life of Christ or die to self today, it is all for His sake and purpose.