Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/doctors/devotion/?id=devotion&day=16&month=1
So you too, my friends, must be obedient...You must work out your own salvation in fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you, inspiring both the will and the deed, for his own chosen purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 (NEB)
God works within us but it is not a passive experience. We experience God's working in us through new desires, through a new sensitivity to human need, even through visions of opportunities for service to be seized. These thoughts are not enough, they must be put into practice, we must obey the stirrings of the spirit within us. It is only thus that God can use us as channels for his love, as ambassadors to the world. No wonder Paul regards this as a great and serious matter to be approached with `fear and trembling'. We have only one life on earth, we must seek God's will for that life with reverence, care and obedience.
Our wills are wayward, we must pray for obedience. Remember what it cost Christ to be obedient unto death; his followers failed him at this time when they could have helped him most. Our spiritual awareness is dull, and we must be careful not to neglect the Spirit within us or stifle him by active disregard.
Everyday life is proving ground. today as we work with colleagues, as we meet our patients, as we live with our friends or families, let us expect God to suggest actions to us, and let us try to put these thoughts into practice.
Breathe on me, breath of God;
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what thou doest love,
And so what thou wouldst do.
Edwin Hatch
Further reading: Jn 14:21-24, 15:14. Ja 2:14-18,26
JEL-J
