Philippians 2:12 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.

One of the things I appreciate the most about God is that it is NOT up to me to become like Him all by myself. Of course, I have to participate, but from a human standpoint, if I could change myself, I would have by now. It takes a supernatural intervention to change us from glory to glory, into the image of Christ.

I love the verse that states “for it is God who works in you”. If God is working in me, then I don’t have to despair of my own inabilities and failures. I love how He works in me to help my “will”, so I WANT to act to fulfill His good purpose.

As I continue in the struggle against my eating disorder and years of unhealthy eating behaviors and avoidance of exercise, I can go from “committed to healthy eating and exercise” to “who cares?” in 1 second flat. I need to know He is and will continue to be the constant influence in my life that guides me back to Him and repeatedly gives me desires to do what He wants.

If I didn’t have the assurance of His continued working in my will and my actions, and if I didn’t believe that He will complete the work He has started in me, I would easily and quickly become disillusioned and despairing. So I rest on His promises, knowing that His compassion never fails and His mercies are new every morning. I can start over again each moment of the day or night and surrender anew to Him to complete what He started. That gives me hope to continue the struggles and fight the good fight.

Questions for the day:
1. In what areas of your life do you repeatedly experience despair because of your own inabilities?
2. How can you practically turn to God in surrender to start over again every time?