12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Almost forgot it was Monday…
Last weekend I read a post that said the following: “Are you happier on Monday or Friday?”
If you read into these words you’d see the owner of the post was searching for consumers to respond as to which day they enjoyed more. The problem is as the responses came in, no one had the answer of the faithful believer.
You surely already have the answer… Any Day… For we have read these words of scripture before and the resonating message is: WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING. Sound fun and relaxing right? That with all the grace and love and saving power of Christ in our hearts and lives and we still have to WORK IT OUT OURSELVES?
What is God wanting for us here? I hear a few things; one, that the working out of my faith is happening within God’s presence, and again, the working out of my faith should happen when I seem to be outside of God’s presence? Then to see the working out is to be done through or with fear and trembling? How pleasant… but think through it… what parts of our faith require true and earnest thoughts and prayer to God for the hard questions? How often are there areas in your life that He seems to ignore or possibly even avoid all together? Yet if the Bible teaches us that one of the attributes of God is OMNIPRESENCE and another OMNISCIENCE then is there really any time at all that we are “away from God’s presence”?
As I ‘ve been focused lately on not trying so hard on my own accords, but to let GOD do the work in my life as HE sees fit; it becomes easier and easier to work out my salvation. Are you following this? That is , it is GOD that works in us FOR HIS GOOD PLEASURE over us working through our own power for our own glory.
So the question was there: Monday or Friday? Nope, ANY DAY is happiest for the believer in Christ. ANY DAY is the day for us to work out our salvation no matter how hard it may be SO LONG AS IT BECOMES for HIS WILL and GOOD PURPOSE.
Fear and trembling is for us to cower down afraid of His wrath but rather our posture of absolute submission and awareness of His vast glory, radiance, and power. Within such presence we are absolute nothingness and in Him we find our EVERYTHING…. HIS EVERYTHING… for His Work and Purposes.
Barnabas Man 