By “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13 ESV)
Many times I feel like the Apostle Paul:
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:15-20 ESV)
We learn from Philippians 2:13 that our “desire to do what is right,” is from God. It is he who “works in you.” He not only places in us the desire or will to do what is right; he enables the actions or “work” as well.
I have been at a place in my life before when I could not find a desire to do what was right. I loved doing wrong and gave no thought to what was right. It is disturbing now to think back to that time as I see that I had been forsaken by God. He had no pleasure in himself to work in me for his good pleasure.
I am sure thankful this morning that God has provided Jesus to atone for our rebellion and sin; aren’t you?
Leading Family Devotions 