For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. – Philippians 2:13
Today’s verse and the one before it speak of a partnership with Almighty God. How wonderful to think that you are not left to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” on your own! Believers are to aim to love God and others in practical ways. However, God is also at work in you to transform you in ways that delight Him.
Imagine artists working with their mediums, whether it be oils, watercolors, pastels, or acrylics. They may feel a deep connection with their subject and the way they express it in their art. Most artists enjoy the whole process of creating, giving them a deep sense of satisfaction. Imagine God deriving such pleasure as He works His will in you. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
In the preceding verses, Paul exhorts his readers to treat each other with kindness, even considering others as more important than themselves. Living so unselfishly may seem like a tall order, especially in today’s busy society. Just trying to keep up with your own life might seem to be about all you can do. Think of barn-raising in the Amish community. When someone needs a barn, everyone pitches in together and it is up in a day. How much more could a church accomplish if believers worked together and looked out for each other’s needs? Pray for opportunities to make this happen. Pray for the people of the United States to know Jesus’s love by the way Christians treat each other.
Today’s Verse: Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Ephesians 2:1-10
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
