July 28- Philippians 2:12-13

THE VERSE

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
~Philippians 2:12-13

THE THOUGHT

What a wonderful comfort and encouragement in the long, hard road of sanctification! God does not leave us on our own to scrape and slog our way to holiness, but neither does He carry us all the way there as passive recipients of His power. Rather, He asks us (and gives us the power necessary) to work out what He is working in, namely, His saving grace.

The work of sanctification—that is, the work of becoming more and more like Jesus—is a fight to work out what He is working in. As the Holy Spirit pours out His love into our hearts, as He opens our eyes to see more of the glory of Christ, as His Word soaks deeper into our minds, He is equipping us for the “working out” part. Our calling is to take all this work of God, all this rich deposit of grace that He is funneling into our hearts, and start the hard work of bringing it up to the surface. To work out your salvation is to take our knowledge of God’s love and bring it up to the surface of our lives so that it starts affecting how we love others. To work out your salvation is to take your experience of mercy and start using it as a power source to forgive those who wrong you.

The blessed hope in all of this is that we do not work out alone. Underneath and alongside of all of our striving for holiness, God is there, working His love into our lives, injecting the sustaining power of grace into all our efforts. We do not strive alone. Christ in us, the hope of glory, drives us on.

THE PRAYER

Holy Spirit, I am so glad that You do not leave me to my own strength to claw my way to holiness. If You were not working in me, if You were not supplying me with all the energy for all my toil, all my striving would be losing, and I would never become more like You, let alone make it to glory. But I know that because of Your generous working in me, that You will provide strength for every step of faith I must take on this road to heaven. Spirit, help me. I can’t do this alone.

EXTENDED READING

Colossians 1:27-29
Hebrews 13:20-21



THE QUOTE

“Because we see the law and love of God fulfilled, we become both humble and bold because we know we are his by grace. This is unique. Without the gospel, humility and boldness can only increase at each other’s expense.” ~Tim Keller

THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

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