Working out our salvation is something we do together as a church. This includes resolving our disagreements, as the Philippians are urged to do in Paul’s absence.

And we don’t work alone. Working out our salvation is based on the Gospel truth that God Himself is working in all of us together, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Therefore, all our working out must build upon and synergise with God’s working in. If not, our best efforts will remain powerless and fruitless.

Paul’s emphasis here is not on the work God does through us, but the work God does in us both individually and corporately. We can work our fingers to the bone outwardly. But if this is not synergised with God’s work within us and among us, we labour in vain. Next stop: Brownout.

Brownout occurs when powerlines are overloaded and the lights grow dim. Blackout is what happens when the lines are short-circuited and the lights go out. And burnout occurs when the wires are cut. And before too long, we forget what it was like to live in the light.

Philippians 2:13 is both prevention and cure for brownout, blackout, and burnout. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Praise be to God! The Good News just got better! Both the willing and the working come from God.

Without ever violating our free will, God works His own desires into our hearts. Then, as we freely and fully consent to God’s desires, as we align our will with His will, a divine fusion occurs in our hearts.

Nuclear fusion produces the energy that powers the stars. Divine fusion yields a supply of energy in our hearts that empowers us to work out our own salvation. God works it in. We work it out.

This is what it means to be a community of the Kingdom, filled, led, and empowered by the Spirit. It’s not God doing it for us. But God supplies us with both the passion and the power to please Him in all that we do individually and together as a church.

Therefore, beloved Philippians and Singaporeans, let us please God by being of the same mind, bowing to the One Name, and working out our common salvation together in reverence and wonder, so that we might shine like the stars in our burnt-out world.

Pray Now

1 God is gracious. He gives us space to be and to do. He does not override our will. With fear and trembling, come to terms with your part of the equation in God’s grand scheme of things. Resolve to live for Christ with zest and zeal. Never yield an iota of your life to double-mindedness, ego, arrogance, unbelief, presumption, comfort, convenience, sloth, stupor, secret sin, and so on.

2 God knows best: My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). It’s no secret. Young people can be strong-willed. But this can be harnessed and channelled for good. A strong will can become an audacious courage and determination to live for Christ. What does it take for strong-willed youth with a mind of their own to cultivate an inner life that synergises with God’s ways and thoughts? Ponder, pray, and heed the counsel of wise fathers, who in fear and trembling, aligned their will with God’s will: 

• “God doesn’t give His counsel to the curious or the careless; He reveals His will to the concerned and the consecrated. Some believers take the attitude, ‘I’ll ask God what He wants me to do, and if I like it, I’ll do it.’ The result is predictable: God doesn’t speak to them. Unless we have a serious desire both to know and to do the counsel of God, He will not reveal His will to us” (W Wiersbe).
• “When the will is lacking, God Himself does nothing, because of man’s free will, even though He could. The successful working of the Spirit depends on man’s will” (Macarius).

3 God works in us. And the work He does in us is far more important than the work He does through us. Because whatever work He does through us is an overflow of the work He does in us. Without this foundation, we are building on sand. This alone is enough to explain the lamentable fall of so many spiritual leaders. The famous ones we hear about are but the tip of the iceberg. The warning applies to all. Take soundings of your inner life today:

• How deep is your foundation? Is it resting on solid rock?
• Are you giving God enough time and space in your private life to will and to work for His good pleasure?
• Are you wearing so many hats, so busy working for God, that you don’t have time for God to work in you?
• Pause and wait upon the Lord. The Lord works for those who wait for Him (Isaiah 64:4). In returning and rest you shall be saved (Isaiah 30:15). Therefore, if you are feeling stretched – like “too little butter spread across too much bread” (Tolkien) – watch out for burnout. Read the signs. Heed the warnings. There’s no shame in owning up to your crisis and seeking help. Practise soul care.

4 God is for us: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain (Psalm 127:1). Pray the Word. Bless all denominational heads, pastors, elders, church councils, and ministry leaders by name and the stream they represent. Pray for a greater conscious need of God, and a greater dependence on God.

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