God’s good pleasure is working with you
by Kimberley Pfeiffer
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‘For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure’ (Philippians 2:13).
Have you ever felt frozen about what God has called you to in your life? The particular form of fear I’m talking about is unique to Christians. I think the conflict arises when although we find great spiritual comfort in contemplating God through meditating on his word or in prayer, we still fear the hard, earthly work that God has called us to do. Maybe it is working through relationship problems, facing the mountainous inbox at work, or learning to be a parent. We ask ourselves, ‘Where do I begin? Why am I doing this? How am I to do this?’ Maybe we begin to despair, ‘I’m not great at this, I’m not cut out for this’. And at the bottom, we reflect, ‘Maybe I need to go back and pray and pray and pray’.
Now, I’m not saying that prayer is not the answer, because I think it actually is. But I do think that we sometimes deceive ourselves into believing that praying is limited to a posture of stillness. I received great encouragement in my faith when I realised that God has given me work as a way to pray. We can meditate while we labour, receiving the day’s work as a gift that God has set before us. We are even more fortunate because we don’t do our work alone. We have a teacher and helper in the Holy Spirit who is always with us and at work in us, enabling us both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We may find the work to be a really hard slog at times, but remember, God is our loving father, and he is the head of our family business. Because of him, we can work peacefully and with joy. We may find that we need redeeming countless times as we make mistakes and need to learn new skills to improve and grow – but remember, Christ understands what it is like to be human and to struggle. He has compassion for you. So, remember to pray and ask for help when you feel you are at your physical or mental limits. It requires humility to do this. Jesus says, ‘Ask and it will be given to you’. Trust in him. It is his good pleasure to work with you!
Heavenly Father, thank you for setting work before us each day. Help us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling so that we can work for your good pleasure. Help us to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to do the same and that by holding fast to the word of life, we, like Paul, can boast on the day of Christ that we did not run or labour in vain but were glad and rejoiced over the offering of faith. In Christ’s work, Amen.
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