Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:6
I chose to write this devotion from a first person perspective because I am in process with the Lord as He grows me into His likeness. I am a Friend of God, called to be used by Him in whatever capacity He chooses. My main goal is to love God and His people, to walk in obedience as I live intimately in Christ Jesus, abiding in Him and being fruit producing as I do His Will. I humbly confess that I am gaining a better understanding as I emulate the Apostle Paul in not considering myself to have already attained or be perfected, but pressing on to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. I find myself more readily able to deal with the past (emotions from the past; the sting of the enemy), so I can forget those things in the past and reach forward to the things which are ahead, as I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).
When I first gave my life to Christ, one of the very first Bible studies I participated in was Kay Arthur’s study of the Book of Philippians. What I experienced during that study, but I didn’t have a name for it at that time, was transformation as I went through the sanctification process (of being made into God’s likeness). In the midst of trying to understand the changes that were happening in me, I struggled with growth, abandonment issues, and not understanding what it was in me that caused some of the “more spiritually mature” to be vexed by my very presence, questions I would ask, or the comments I made. I now know that I needed deliverance so I could experience the fullness of God’s love and protection, and to understand what it means to live securely in Christ Jesus and in the family of God.
During that time of study, I grabbed hold of Philippians 1:6. The Apostle Paul writes in his greeting to the church in Philippi, that he was “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. Still today I hold onto the fact that Paul stated that God began the work, therefore it is God’s responsibility to see the work in me through to completion. Seeing the work through to completion meant I was going through the sanctification process because I had given my life to Christ and He was/is transforming me into His likeness. I learned that my responsibility in this process is to cooperate with the Lord, die daily to my fleshly yearnings, have the mind of Christ, trust Him, etc.
As I gain a better understanding of who I am in Christ Jesus it becomes so much easier to agree with God concerning the things in my life that need to be uprooted for change in order to live in freedom. I had to allow Holy Spirit to come and deal with my fear of the unknown concerning deliverance and my many questions. Over time, I learned that deliverance is a necessary spiritual process, led by the Holy Spirit, as part of God’s daily sanctification process for my life. It is a process I will experience until I go “home” to be with Jesus. It’s the process of agreeing with God when I have some spiritual bondages and barriers that allow Satan access into my life, such as, strongholds, disobedience, unforgiveness, inner vows and judgments, traumas, generational iniquities, etc.
I readily confess that these bondages and barriers held me back from living victoriously in the abundant life and faith in the future of hope Jesus won for me through His death, burial, and resurrection (John 10:!0, Jeremiah 29:11). I have learned the importance of confessing sin, repentance, forgiving myself and others, and receiving from the Lord forgiveness, cleansing, restoration, and healing. I learned to repent of and forgive myself for the messes that I’ve made in my life and the times when I was used by the enemy to be a “spoiler” to the things of God.
Where are you today? Are You struggling with change? God has a process for your life! He will take you through the deliverance and sanctification process and He will continue to work on you, until Jesus comes back or you go home to be with the Lord. Let’s pray.
Prayer: Father, in the Name of Jesus, I want to experience daily, the fullness of Your freedom. I repent of my sin. I come into agreement with the sanctification process that You have for my life. I stand confident in knowing that You chose me and that I am loved by You. You have begun this good work in me and I thank You for being faithful in completing Your work. I submit to Your process of making me into your likeness. In Jesus Name. Amen.
© 2018 Rita D. Weaver