Lighting the Second Candle- - Confidence

Devotion by: Melanie Miller-Cvilikas

Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
⁴constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

This letter to the Philippians is so positive, joyful, upbeat and encouraging people are surprised to learn that Paul wrote this letter from prison. Many people feel today as if their life circumstances leave them feeling as if they are in a prison. The stressors of our world are real and too numerous to list. Paul’s message remains relevant. The love of Christ Jesus knows no prison walls. We can be confident that Jesus can find us, hear us, protect us, speak for us and love us wherever we are. Stressful times can leave us feeling anxious and afraid, and can cloud our ability to make wise choices. Leaning on Christ will help us to “discern what is best and may be pure and blameless.” When we worry all we see are the circumstance and all others see in us is the stress. When we believe in God despite the circumstances, we see the glory of God.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we know you can see the big picture of our lives when we can’t seem to take the next baby step. Please fill us with your peace as you confidently orchestrate our life circumstances for we know you are doing this out of the deep love you have for each one of us. Amen.