He who began a good work in you WILL carry it on to completion

I host a men's small group at my home every Tuesday night. It is such an amazing group of guys. We have men that have been walking with the Lord for years, men that have been walking with Him for a few months, and men that have only just started walking with Him. It is such an honor to sit back and watch as God works in each of our lives individually. I can look around each week and just watch these men growing before my very eyes. However, it's easier to see that progress in the lives of others than it is to see in ourselves.One week, we were having a group discussion about a message we just finished watching. It was a rather tough message. The speaker was challenging us, as men of God, to go even deeper in our relationship with Christ. The speaker was urging us to give up more of our time, money, etc. to further the gospel, because the gospel is the most important thing in this life. It was one of those times where you could look around the room after the message ended and see everyone silently contemplating. There wasn't much talking going on. As we began our discussion, I noticed that some of the men in the room seemed almost frightened. They didn't feel like they were meeting the expectations of the speaker, and it was as if they doubted the validity of their relationship with God.As I thought about how to encourage these men, the only thing I could think to point them to was the fact that they were sitting in that room.  They were there on a Tuesday night giving of their time and energy to pursue fellowship with God and His people. I could sincerely look in the eyes of those men and say, the fact that you are sitting here right now is evidence that God is truly working in you. Not one of them was being forced to be there. They all had other things they could be doing. Some of them were admittedly tired from long days at work. They were all doing significantly better than they thought they were!The only reason I had compassion on these men was because I could certainly relate to how they felt. I am by far my biggest critic. Ever since I was very young, I have simply never felt like I was doing enough in any area of my life. I have never lived up to my own expectations. I guess a good word for that might be "perfectionist".  I struggle with carrying that mindset into my relationship with God. It can be to the point that, if I am not careful, my relationship with Him can become works based instead of grace based. Because I have this tendency, their is a scripture that I have clung to in my walk with Christ. Philippians 1:6 says, "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."This scripture keeps me pressing on in my walk with God. It is so powerful to know, that even when I feel like giving up, He is not giving up on me. When I am beating myself up over my mistakes, He is reminding me that I am forgiven and that He does not condemn me. I can be confident that God cannot lie, and His word affirms that He will carry His good work on to completion no matter how defeated I may be feeling at any moment.I just wanted to take a few moments to speak this scripture over your life today. I don't know where you are in your walk with Christ. What I do know is that if you have stopped to read this, you have taken time out of your busy day to shift your focus back to God. You may not be perfect, but God doesn't need perfect, He just wants willing, obedient hearts. You are doing better than you think! Just keep pressing into God. Keep pursuing Him. If you are reading this, I believe that God has already begun His good work in you. If God has already begun that good work, then I can say with all confidence that He WILL carry it on to completion!