It’s God, You Fool!

It’s interesting… I’ve read Philippians 2:12-13 many times, but noticed something today that I hadn’t before.

You may be familiar with the passage:

¹²Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always focused on “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. For whatever reason, I’ve always wrestled with that portion of the verse.

Tonight?

I’ve finally seen the latter half and let it sink in a bit… it is GOD who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose.

It’s God who enables us to will and act.

It’s God.

I feel like such a fool.

For the longest time, I’ve wondered why I often struggle in my faith. Not belief… that’s never wavered since I committed my life to Christ… but practice? You betcha.

I’ve struggled with what it means to be a Christian… how a Christian should act, think, feel, serve, reach out. And when I act upon the meanings for these I’ve found in Scripture? Well, I almost always fall short, feeling like Paul in Romans 7 (you know, the whole “what I want to do, I do not do, but what I do not, I do” thing).

It comes back to Philippians 2:13… “it’s GOD who works in you to will and act”.

So often, we go about our lives as Christians trying to do all the right things. Nothing wrong with that, of course… but we’re often forging our own path… doing things on our own, in our own strength.

It’s about time we all stepped back and let God have His way.

It is for me, at least.