WORK OUT WHAT HAS BEEN PUT IN
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:12-13 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Our spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between us and God. God has given us the Holy Spirit to work in us and with us. We must do our part to see spiritual growth and maturity take place in our lives.
Paul’s passage above was not about us working to be saved. We are saved by faith through grace. God did the work of our salvation when He sent Jesus to the cross to pay the price for our sins. We are saved simply by believing in the work of Jesus on the cross.
But we must “work out” what God has “worked in” us. Consider the analogue of putting a puzzle together. You work to get the pieces to fit together properly—the maker of the puzzle has given you the pieces, but you must put them together.
The same is true for a farmer. He works the field to produce the crop. He doesn’t work the field to get land, he already has the land, but he must work it to produce the needed crop.
God's Spirit works with us, not just in us. The Holy Spirit wants to inspire and empower us to put together what He has put in us so that we can become the person God created us to be. We must choose daily to partner with God in the process of our spiritual growth.
Spiritual growth happens intentionally, not accidentally. We make daily choices that result in our growth. The little choices we make daily determine the person I will become.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to see what You have worked in me. Teach me how to work out what You have worked in.
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