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Unstoppable Reading Plan | Week 4 | Day 2
Prayer
Allow some silence for your soul to catch up with your body. As you come to spend time with Jesus, consider what you are fearful of and ask God to meet you in those fears today.
Bible Reading: Philippians 2:12-13
Read these verses three times slowly.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Reflection & Questions
This week we are looking at how God brings transformation. We saw yesterday that transformation begins with a heart that has come to the end of itself and is done with compromise. (By the way, it is the same heart dynamic works for those who first come to Jesus and those who have been following Him for years).
What happens next has been poorly understood. In his book Deeper, Dane Ortlund describes four views of how transformation happens.
- God, then me. In other words, God saves me and then my change is up to me.
- God, not me. It is really only God that changes me, I’m not involved (“Let go and let God”).
- God plus me. God does some, I do some.
- God in me. God does all and I do all. We are both fully involved in my transformation.
The first three views are common, but are not what the Bible portrays. Our verse today, amongst many others, shows how the path to transformation involves God completely and involves us completely. Paul says, “Work out your salvation…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
God being God has a much bigger part to play, but His part never cancels out our part. If you want to transform, take the bull by the horns and go for it. But at the very same time, fully rely on God to guide and empower your efforts. It is by His grace and power that change is possible. The reality is that God is in you, working on you. And no matter how deep your sin goes, his grace and power goes deeper. He’s ready to walk the road with you to transformation.
- Which of the four views of God’s role and your role in your transformation are you currently living by? Why?
- If change happens through “God doing all and us doing all”, are you doing all you can to change? Why or why not? What does it look like to rely on His grace, His guidance and His power and putting our efforts fully into changing?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
