By Joseph Perry

“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.” Philippians 1:6

We can sometimes allow people, places or things to stop us from doing something that’s good and positive

It’s important to know that when you have been given a task in life, then you must continue that until the Lord removes you from that task.

A young man was telling his pastor at his church that he no longer wanted to serve on the outreach team. He said, “I get beat up too much from other members on the team who are of the church. I love doing what I’m doing, but I feel so bad when I go home because of how they make me feel.”

The pastor called him in his office and said, “My brother, sit down for a moment, and let me share something with you. I see something in you, and you are very gifted. You have the ability to touch people’s lives and leave positive imprints on them that can’t be erased.” The pastor told him to go on and finish what he had started, because he is depositing good into people lives that he won’t ever know about.

Paul was sharing with the Philippian church that the Lord has put something in each of them to do for His glory until He returns. We can’t be making excuses as we do the work of Lord. We should never let anyone muffle our gift, nor should we allow anything or anyone in life to deter us. We should never let our focus be thrown off. We must keep our hand to the plough until the Lord returns.

One this is for certain, and that is Jesus is coming back. We have to do whatever we have been charged to do until our time is up. We must work while it’s day, because our night is coming, and none of us will be able to work anymore. I know it’s hard at times, and I know people can beat you up and sometimes make you feel bad. People can make you no longer want to do what you have a passion to do. However, you need to know that you have an inner voice talking to you, saying you are special and you are gifted. You are doing this for a reason. That inner voice is the Lord telling you to keep going.

Today, we must keep going because this work He has put in us is not for us; it’s for Him, that He may get all the glory. Let Him get the glory out of you.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Perry is pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. Contact him at josephp134@gmail.com.