Yesterday I wrote that God will finish what He started.  Philippians 1:6 speaks clearly that God will complete what He began in each of us.  The interesting thing about the Philippians text is Paul writes these words of encouragement from behind prison walls.  It takes faith for a man to be able to encourage others while in bondage.

I like what Paul says in the next verse. For emphasis, I used the Message translation.  It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. Philippians 1:7

For the last few weeks, I have been writing from my type of prison.  My prison has been the hurt and emotional pain that weighed me down. Just like Paul, I am choosing reach beyond my prison by writing and encouraging others. And just like Paul, I came out alive.  What was meant to destroy me and the ministry God placed in my life did not work.  I came out in one piece so that I can continue that work that our Father will one day finish.

Whatever your prison is, don’t let it keep you bound.  Use your circumstance just as Paul did to share the goodness of the Lord with others.  Don’t allow your present situation cause you to be blind to the beautiful future that God has planned for you.