It is Finished! - Blackaby Devotional
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
John 19:30
God always finishes what He begins
(Phil. 1:6). God never speaks a word without ensuring that it comes to pass (Isa. 55:11). Christ is both the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:8, 17). Christ is as much at the end of His work as He is at its beginning.
Jesus was given an enormous mandate. He was to live a sinless life, remaining absolutely obedient to His Father. Even the manner of His death was to fulfill numerous prophecies that had been foretold in Scripture (Matt. 26:24, 31, 54, 56; 27:9, 35; 46; John 19:28, 36-37). Yet, despite the extremely complex assignment Jesus received from His Father, He could shout triumphantly from the cross, “It is finished!”
Christ now resides within each believer. His assignment today is to complete God’s will in each Christian. He is just as determined to do this in us as He was to complete God’s will for Himself. You will have to resist Christ in order to remain out of the will of God. What is it God wants to do in you? Have you allowed Him to complete what He has begun? He will not force you to receive all that He has for your life. If God’s work has not been brought to fruition in you, it is not that Christ has not been diligently working toward that end. Rather, you may need to release areas of your life to Him and be as determined to see God’s work in you completed as Christ is. Review the things God has said to you over this last year. Are these promises God has made to you that you have refused to allow Him to complete? If so, commit to yield your will to God today.
Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day
Great to hear you have received encouragement and things look brighter. God has a plan for us, even in the darkness.
Christopher says:
Thank you, Pistol Pete.
Hey Christopher,
Seems like whenever I need to hear a good word I can always come here Christopher and have a good laugh too - “The Dog Whisperer” - too funny, but yes, I can see the analogy - grrrr!
But sometimes I think that God will deliberately allow us to walk through some things just to teach us to trust in Him. I even wonder if the lessons are repeated until we finally do get it - “that God is more than able and big enough to handle whatever it is we find ourselves in” and the lessons will continue to repeat until that becomes our very mindset.
For some reason I always think of Corrie Ten Boom when I think of this kind of faith and I’m sure there are and were others like her; with this immovable kind of faith in God (and of course Corrie Ten Boom was definitely put to the test). But a faith that is constant. That no matter what we go through God is there. That knows that it knows that it knows that it knows (did I forget any knows?) that God is for us and not against us irregardless of our circumstances or their outcome. That God is the good and loving Father who truly always does know best. Who sees everything ahead of us and has planned the way even, even when it looks like maybe He hasn’t, because isn’t that just like us to question Him when things start to look uncertain? And I think for most of us that is an unquestionable “yes.”
Anyway, I was thinking of this very thing as I sat in my car during my lunch hour today - watching as a small bird picked at the ground and God reminded me, “don’t you know that you are of far more value to me than the birds and see how I care for them?” “Yes, Lord” I said, reminded of how little faith I have when I doubt Him in any area of my life, yet, I know He loves me still and He is always teaching me and so I pray continually “God, increase my faith!” That one day here (and I hope soon) that I will no longer question Him - in anything!
Well, I am so glad God has encouraged you and strengthened you this week Christopher and that things are looking brighter and I will make sure and say a prayer that you will continue to sense God’s nearness and His direction for you life. God’s blessings!
~Jen
Christopher says:
Ahh, and all this time, I thought I had missed my calling as a comedian.
Concerning: “I think that God will deliberately allow us to walk through some things just to teach us to trust in Him.” … I don’t know? Perhaps it is a matter of our Father “teaching us” to trust in Him, or perhaps it’s the quirky magnitude of His Love for us; that He allows us to flounder in our ways, versus controlling our every step (freedom to follow/freedom fall). Regardless, I know that He’s never far off, waiting to take us in to His embrace.
Grace and peace be with you.
I just realized I’m typing it wrong - it’s Corrie Ten BOOM! I need to go to bed.
~Jen
Christopher says:
Noted. Administrative fees for editing commentor’s “late night, blood shot eyes having, comment boo-boos” are usually $10 per letter, per instance. are double.
And yes, waving his hands in the Jedi mind-trick fashion… “To bed now, go you should”
Haha - too funny! And if it came down to editing my grammar Christopher, you would be a rich man!!!!! Seriously - see all those exclamation points? Anyvay, the Seinfield link didn’t work - darn it. I’m sure it was funny though.
Well, I really should blog something but I haven’t had the time. I guess I’m just in a season of reading/studying which is always good too sometimes. I’ve been in a really good bible study as of late and of course I always glean a lot from reading everyone’s blogs:)
Talk to you later and God bless!
~Jen
Christopher says:
We’re all rich, we’ve got Jesus!
I’m sure that in time you will pick up on the WalkTwo blog. Interestingly enough, a few weeks ago in the discipleship training course that I’m in, we we’re in discussion about discerning the important things from the urgent tasks in our lives. It seems that, especially in our society, we have a habit of letting things that are “urgent” take precedence over the important activities/priorities. I’ll be sharing some of the thoughts in a post, hopefully in the near future. I would say that you seem to have a handle on addressing the important things.
God bless you too Jen.