Hide & Seek - Philippians 1:6

We have two dry-erase boards hanging in our home office. I purchased and hung them so my husband would have a place to brainstorm or jot random notes. Across the bottom of one of the boards, in permanent black marker, I wrote out the words of Philippians 1:6. I wanted him to see it every day, to be encouraged by the words that Paul penned in his letter to the church in Philippi.

Since I spend a lot of time in the office now, too (that's where we have the computer and all it's accessories), I find myself looking to this verse a lot lately. And to be honest, I pretty much already have it memorized, according to the NIV version. But today, I've needed a dose of encouragement as I plunge into a couple of new opportunities.

I'm so tired of those same old, tired lines of self-doubt fighting for some space inside my head.

"You're not good enough."
"You're not ready."
"You'll never be like ________."

So, today I decided to look up Philippians 1:6 in a few different Bible translations to get a fresh perspective on what God really wanted me to grasp from Paul & Timothy's letter.

NAS
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until (A)the day of Christ Jesus.

NIV
"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The Message
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.


Amplified
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.

Oh whew! I'm still a work in progress. And you are, too! Until the day Jesus returns, He's still working to bring us to a flourishing finish.

So, technically, the thoughts that fill my mind are kinda true. No, I'm not ready (He's still working). No, I'm not good enough (He's still working). No, I'm not like _______ or ____________, but He's making me more like HIM every day! My words don't have to be words of self-doubt any longer, but instead they can be words filled with the hope of God's promised plan.

I hope that's an encouragement to you today. Oh, and I'm committing the Message version to memory this week!