Philippians 2:12-13; To Will and to Act

“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, (13) for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

We’re talking specifically about verse 13 today… I have always struggled with knowing what God wants me to do with my life.  From college, to seminary, to even now – I often ask, “Am I doing what I should be doing?”  Perhaps you can identify with that.

There are SO MANY WAYS to serve Christ in the world; work in a church, translate the bible, work in this ministry, or that ministry, serve locally, or overseas, work for clean water, malaria nets, accessible medicine, be a writer, make movies, help children, help adults, fight trafficking, go to Africa, go to India, and on and on. Historically, I would consider all the options and just… freeze.  Not knowing what to do; I wouldn’t do anything.  The needs are so great and so many – and while I have a variety of abilities, I am not particularly skilled or knowledgeable about any one thing.  It was debilitating really.

But God brought verse 13 to my attention a while ago and he is slowly changing that.  If you boil down my problem, it was basically this, “I don’t know what God wants me to do, and even if I did, I don’t think that I could do it or want to do it.”  Anyone else in that boat today?

But verse 13 tells a few key points that will give us encouragement:

1. It is God who works in you.  God does the work through you.  I tend to forget that the Eternal Creator of the Universe is working in me.  It’s not some puny God who can’t get anything done – he created the universe in 6 days for goodness sake!  He knows why he created me, and he has a good plan for my life. 
    
2. God gives you the will to do what he calls you to do.  This is a big one or me.  God will grow in us a desire to do what he has called us to do.  Not that we sit and wait for desire to come, but as we are available to fulfill the needs we see around us, God will grow in us a will to act.
    
3. God gives you the ability to act upon what he has calls you do.  Similar to point one, if God is calling you to do something – he WILL give you the ability to do it.  It may be scary, you may fumble through things for a while, but as you rely on Him, He will enable you to serve well.
    
4. What God calls you to do will fulfill his good purpose.  God grants us the privilege to work alongside him, to be a co-laborer with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

God gives us everything we need to fulfill his plans; the will and the ability to do His good work.  The only variable is whether we will trust him, step out in faith, and act. 

One bonus thought: if you don’t know what God wants you to do, do something.  Find a need at your church and pitch in or get to know your neighbors and find ways to serve them.  We should wait actively, not passively.  As you obey the things that God has already told us to do in the bible, he will direct us toward more specific avenues of service.  So get out there and do something!

“I have no idea what I am supposed do, I only know what I can do.” – Captain James T. Kirk, “Star Trek Into Darkness”