Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. 16 It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:12-16 / NRSV)
Yes, God does all the saving. But that does not mean we do not have any work to do!
We are called to work out what God is doing within us.
God is working within us to make us willing to do God's will and to empower us to actually do God's will.
When we do God's will willingly, we do it without murmuring and arguing. In this way we shine like stars in a dark world.
The same can be said for our calling. We have to work out our calling knowing that God is at work within us to make that possible.
Name your callings today. What steps do you have to take to live out your calling?
When are you working out your calling and when are you just working? How can you tell?
Why do we sometimes murmur and argue when we are working?
What are we to hold fast to? How will that help us to work out our calling?