“God is always at work in you, to make you willing and able to obey.” Philippians 2:13 TEV
“God’s heart is set on only one thing for you, your highest and best.”
My thoughts today are about “achieving potential.”
Obedience does not seem natural to any of us. You were born wanting your own way, with a cantankerous, independent streak that resents being told what to do. In your everyday life, and especially in your spiritual development, obedience is not about forcing you to do something you don’t want to do, and certainly never about getting you to do what you really don’t need to do. Obedience is God’s practical means of teaching you how to be productive, to have and enjoy success with satisfaction by realizing your full potential. You can do more than you think; you can become better than you have been. Don’t settle for less!
At home and at work, doing what you’re directed may at first seem to be only for someone else’s pleasure, but doing that readily, joyfully, and excellently results in your always being the one who ultimately benefits. This is even more true as it relates to your obedience to God. When you are convinced that God’s heart is set on only one thing for you – your highest and best – you will joyfully embrace the truth that “God is always at work in you, to make you willing and able to obey His own purpose; do everything without complaining or arguing.” Philippians 2:13-14 TEV.
God’s Word declares, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” 3 John 2 NKJV. Prospering and healthy! Aren’t those the very things you most desire to be? Here’s the catch: the Bible teaches those things are vitally related to your spiritual well being; they occur as, and to the measure that “your soul prospers.”
Obedience is God’s way, more than just a better option; it is the only way to achieve your greatest potential, and find fulfillment and satisfaction at the deepest levels of your personality and identity. God created you to be productive, not just busy and hard working. There are people who are efficient, but not always effective. Others are effective but not efficient. Obedience helps you be both efficient and effective – no wasted energy, no wasted effort, no unrealized potential.
Imagine the regret of coming to the end of your life and realizing that you could have been better – more than you became. God does not wish one moment of your life to be wasted, nor one ounce of effort and energy misdirected, nor one opportunity thrown away needlessly. You are capable of achieving more than you dare dream, but not apart from God directing your life. “God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey His own purpose.” Your fullest potential is found only in His purpose!
My prayer for you today is that you will choose His way; it’s always best.