“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.”
Have you ever acted one way when a leader was watching you and then changed your behavior once they were gone? The Philippians get you, and Paul is reminding them to keep following the teachings they learned about how to follow Jesus even though he is no longer watching over them. The word “important” catches me — there is a sense of urgency in the Philippians’ efforts to stay true to Jesus’ mission.
The next words are “work hard.” Immediately I return to a rule-based mindset, and in fact wonder if I have gotten things all wrong in the other devotionals I have written. There is a clear sense here that hard work is required, and obedience is essential. If I am going for hard work and obedience, shouldn’t I pull out my list of “good Christian” rules and make sure I do them all every day? Then I’ll know whether I’m on track, right?
Before we go taking on the slavery of the law (again), let’s keep reading: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Wait, who is doing the work? Is it me or God? I was just supposed to work hard a minute ago, but now it says God is working in me. It is here that we must cling to what we know about the Spirit — he does the work in your heart. He changes your desires. He leads to you to right places at the right times.
Salvation changes you. And not in the ways that we think of. Remember, we remain in a battle and we all have our fights and crosses to bear. Life does not get easier when you are saved. In fact, you might just be signing up for the fight of your life. The Spirit will give you the desires for the things of his kingdom and the power to please him. And today your simple heart that is pursuing him by exploring his word is a great delight to him.