Helping You to Do What He Wants

Philippians 2:12, 13

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.

Paul pleaded with the church people in Philippi to keep on doing those good things that he had taught them to do. He knew it was important for them to seek God first and above all else.  He knew from his own experience just how earnestly we must strive for the right. Still, he adds the wonderful truth and promise that God works inside us to give us the desire and the ability, the strength and power to do what He wants us to do.

How freeing and liberating it is to me to know that I can depend on God to give me everything I need so that I can keep stepping out and forward in obedience. Sometimes, I do not even desire what is right, but I can pray that God will step in and create that desire for doing what is right in my heart. The core of who I am and what I want to do can improve, and I really can become what I was always meant to be.

I do not have any limitations on abilities to keep growing in God and His plan for my life. As I keep on going in faith that God will lift me up, I am enabled by Him to do those things that make His heart glad. Meanwhile, I can know that what He wants is all for my good because that is what gives Him joy, my progress and the love I return to Him. No life is better than living it daily in submission to the miraculous saving power of God to transform me, to change what I do and to ennoble my motives for living and doing.

Eve

Eve had an entire lifetime of more than 900 years in which to choose God’s power working in her to overcome where she had failed in the Garden of Eden. We do not know how she lived her life other than the fact that she was a mother, having many children and caring for them every day. Maybe as she saw the grace she wanted to give to her children, she understood more of the love and grace of God for herself. Certainly, she had many years in which to grow wise and mentor those generations that came after her.

Mary

Mary, we are told, thought about things that happened and took things as they came to her. (See Luke 2:19.) She was with the believers after Jesus died, and so she learned just what the plan of salvation was really all about. I think there were scriptures in Mary’s home because Jesus knew so much of them when He was only 12 years old. Still, she did not fully understand Jesus’ mission on earth until after the resurrection.
The same is true today; I grow through the years of studying the Bible. I do not have all the answers at the beginning of my life, and I will keep learning throughout all eternity. Still, I am glad I have access to the Bible and can learn and grow. God really is at work in me.

I can look at others I know that are older and younger than I and know that we all grow at our own pace as God is working in us. My friend Esther may be older than me and studying her Bible every day, but she may always talk to me about how she is worried and afraid for herself and her children. She may have been a believer much longer than I, and  she still has daily doubts with which to struggle.

Then, Meg has only been a believer a short time. I know that she is studying her Bible, but she tells me that she loves to watch these shows on TV that I know promote immorality. I can pray for my friends, and I can ask them to pray for me. I hope that they do pray for me as they see in me those areas where I am far from perfect. We can encourage each other to keep striving for the right without a condemning spirit because we know how God is working in our own lives.

My Prayer

Dear Loving and Patient Father God—

Thank Your mercy on me as I grow. Thank you for the stories in the Bible about how You helped people grow in you throughout their lives. I can have hope from their stories and the promises in Philippians 2:12, 13 that I can show evidence of what You are doing in my life. You are helping me to want to do Your will and giving me the power to do Your will for my life. Then, I can pray for others when they share their lives and struggles with me. Please teach me how I can share the hope, love and mercy that I receive from You!! Thank You that this life is possible because of Jesus! Amen.

Philippians 1:3-8

"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

"So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:3-8 NLT)

Why does thinking of these people thrill Paul and make him want to thank his God? And why is he so glad when he prays for them every day?

1. From the time when they first heard his message about the Good News of Jesus they have partnered with him, giving him support and help in the work.
2. He knows that God started a great work in their lives and He will complete it when Jesus comes back to take his people home.
3. He has no guilt in having a special place in his heart for them because they share with him in imprisonment, and they share the defense and validation of the truth of what he preaches? The Good News!
4. He loves these people and a bond of love that comes because of Christ Jesus.

One of the best things we can do in life is to make good use of what others have invested in our lives. So many people have given to me to help me along life's pathway. I sometimes wish there was a better way I could let them know what they have meant to me.

Here in these verses from Paul's letter to the Philippian believers, I see what is most important. I could never bless them all to the extent they have blessed me, but I can continue the giving. I can enter into the work of giving. I can support them and encourage them best by carrying on the work they do by giving and passing on the favor. My labor will demonstrate that what they have done for me has been successful and I am able to contribute and enrich because I have been nurtured.

When they see that what they have done for me has made a difference and I am "carrying on the torch," they will be glad they helped me and feel joy because God is multiplying the gift they gave when they invested in my life. They will see that God is going to keep working in my life until my life is complete. Additionally, the gift keeps on giving both ways. Through my carrying on the vision, paying forward to others, they are encouraged by the success of helping me; they feel joy and are encouraged to continue giving and enrich still other people's lives.

Those who have given to us will have a special place in their hearts for us, especially, if we take opportunities that come our way to support them when they are struggling on their journey.  When they see that we care about giving and are willing to sacrifice for the good of them and others, their hearts will warm and they will feel rewarded in their labors.

Something special happens that is seen nowhere else on earth when Christians truly unite in the Love that Jesus gives them. Unique bonds are formed that cannot be understood even if they are observed, unless people know Jesus Christ personally and have felt personally the bond with other like-minded Christians. Certain, special joy only Jesus can give.

My Prayer

Dear Father above All,

Thank you so much for the joy and the bonds of your family because of Jesus. Thank you for the precious gift you give each one of us in the form of people who bless our lives and help us on our way. I have been so blessed by different people throughout my life. They have shown me your love and care. Help me to pass on the same love and care to others, and please enrich those who have enriched my life. All of these riches come because of Jesus!