Work it Out!

When we hear the phrase, “work it out,” we usually think about a physical action. It may be working out a cramp in a muscle or exercising to become more healthy. As I read, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12) I had a question for the Lord. Lord, You said, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”(Ephesians 2:8,9) How then can we work out our salvation if it is a gift?

The Lord heard me and answered, “My grace is a gift, through confession of sin and repentance, but you need to work your faith, prayer life, and exercise the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23). He let me know the secret was allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work because we do not have the power to be successful without Him. That means we need to die to ourselves so that He can take over. I think it is called submission. Many of us do not like that word for the simple fact that we have submitted to people in the past that did not have our best interests at heart. We can trust God, because He wants the best for us.

“…knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed  to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:6,11  NKJV

The rest of the sentence in Philippians 2:13, “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”