“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
- Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
I’m studying Philippians using Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary Be Joyful, and when I got to his notes on Philippians 2:12-18, I had to write them down in my journal:
“God works in us through the Word, prayer, and suffering, and we work out in daily living and service… Life is not a series of disappointing ups and downs. Rather it is a sequence of delightful ins and outs. God works in - we work out.”
I reread it several times as I let it sink in… Life is not a disappointing series of ups and downs… it’s a sequence of delightful ins and outs… God works in…. We work out…
It hit me so powerfully because I’ve always seen life as a series of disappointing ups and downs (with more downs than ups!), and in fact, this idea of being “up and down” is ingrained in Christian thought as we talk about having “mountaintop” experiences and traveling through “valleys.” The mountaintops are the good times, the valleys are the bad times.
Yet I’m fascinated by this idea of viewing the “good” times and the “bad” times differently - sort of like flipping the chart or graph of my life’s journey sideways to get a new perspective on things.
Maybe the “downs” become the “ins” once the chart is flipped…? Maybe the things that I’ve understood to be disappointments or low spots in my life are actually the times when God was working in me, preparing me for the next “high” or rather, the next “out” when I would be putting my newly strengthened faith into practice.
Maybe instead of seeing the “downs” as low points, I can start seeing them as “going deeper” points. Maybe I can start recognizing them as the times in my life when God took me deeper so that He could then work through me on a deeper level. He works in me deeply so that He can work through me deeply.
If I view it this way, life seems a lot more purposeful and definitely more delightful as Dr. Wiersbe observed. It’s easier to delight in Him if I see the hard seasons as His “working in” and the harvest seasons as the results of my obedience to His “working in” - ie: they’re my “working out” seasons.
I want to keep the chart of my life turned sideways so that I can keep this perspective of going through seasons of ins and outs with God. I don’t want to be discouraged by the “downs” because they’re really “ins” and all these “ins” must lead to some “outs,” mustn’t they?
God works in.
I work out.
And not only that but according to Philippians 2:13, when I’m working out, He’s giving me the desire and the power to do so!
It starts with Him working in and ends with me working out through Him, so He’s just as active on one side of the chart as He is on the other. Through all the ins and outs of life, He’s always at work. It’s His work from start to finish. What a reassuring thought!
He’s working in me more deeply than ever before so that He can work out of me more evidently than ever before.
Thank You, Lord.
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Hi! I'm Abigail, your real-talk Christian life coach and faith mentor. I believe we're on this earth for a reason, and I LOVE helping people realize and live that truth so that they can reach their God-given potential in all areas of life.
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