Salvation is a lifelong endeavor, it is not a one time thing of simply believing in God, saying the sinner's prayer, and being baptized. There is more, so much more. I hope today's topic is well-received, helpful, and encouraging to someone. Also, remember that these are notes to myself as I learn and grow in my own salvation, I just choose to share as I learn.
So, we have declared Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, been baptized, and perhaps joined a church. We are saved and on our way to heaven after we die. Amen and hallelujah. Now what? Is this all there is? NO. Is there more? YES. Will my life change? YES. Will I see change? YES. These are all good questions, and today, I want to talk about growing in our salvation. Yes, we can and should grow.
Philippians 2:12 states, " Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Wait, what? Am I not saved? I proclaimed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and was baptized. Isn't that all I have to do to be saved? Maybe you had a moment when Jesus came into your life and your heart and cleaned the temple. Either way, this is just the beginning.
Now, as a follower of Jesus, we will face trials and persecution but those things are opportunities to grow in our faith, trust, and salvation. Oftentimes when these things come into our lives we end up asking God why did you let this happen? and sometimes we may be angry with him or perhaps hurt. Please do not think for a minute that I am making light of any trials, I am only trying to give a point of view to perhaps change one's perspective on things. By no means, will I tell you that it is easy, it is not. Now, back to working out our salvation.
If you were to ask me the steps to working out our salvation it would be this. Relationship, knowledge, surrender, and application. First and foremost, we must build a relationship with God our Father. I am not talking about how we run to him when things are not going well, but we spend time with him daily, just like we would a spouse or a child, We need to give him a place in our lives, making him our first love. I am not saying that we no longer love family and friends, I am saying that when we give him first place our love will only grow for those around us. This may require a shift in our discipline, just like we train ourselves to get up every day and go to work or school, we have to train ourselves to do this.
Next would be knowledge. Hosea 4:6 tells us this "My people perish for lack of knowledge." I don't know about you but I don't care anything about perishing. So how do we combat and correct a lack of knowledge? 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show oneself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We must study the word of God, be it alone or in a group setting. While studying, if you come to something you do not understand, you can ask for wisdom and understanding. James 1:5. This in itself is so very important, we can and should ask for wisdom, not only when studying but when faced with any and all trials, big, small, or seemingly insignificant. Bring God and his word into the situation, do not try to resolve things through your own knowledge, and then, when things get worse or go south blame God. 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 tells us that we are deceived if we think we are wise by the standards of this age and the world we live in. Sure we may come up with some "brilliant" plan to resolve situations and it may look good to us, but at the end of the day, it is all foolishness if God is not part of the plan.
Working out our salvation means surrendering. Not only our hearts but our thoughts. I am only recently learning that our trials are really opportunities, opportunities to fine tune our faith. Before when I was faced with trials I thought that perhaps I had done something that deserved punishment, but that is not so. When faced with trials we have a tendency to let our emotions take over, be it anger, sadness, rage, etc. When this happens our peace and joy disappear leaving us stuck in/under the control of our current emotional status brought on by the trial. It seems that any faith we may have had in God's word concerning that situation gets tossed out of the window. We should remember that righteousness and salvation are measured by our faith in God's word.
Now let's talk about the application of God's word. This is the importance of knowing God's word through bible study and revelation. It appears that we often view the Bible as a book of rules and laws that keep us under condemnation, but seldom do we see it as an instruction manual. Have you ever tried to put a child's toy together without an instruction manual and ended up with parts and pieces left over. How frustrating is that? So, I ask are you currently frustrated? If so, I ask have you looked in the manual, have you asked for help and guidance? Perhaps, you have found a verse or two that would be helpful in your situation and are leaning on that promise, but I ask have you moved on that promise? Have you taken any action to move toward that promise or are you waiting patiently (or not) for God to make it happen? I feel like we often think that God sees our situation and is holding out until the last minute before help is sent. We look at faith from the standpoint of mental assent rather than an action. I tell you faith requires action on our part. We can see this throughout the Old and New Testament. Let's stop here for a minute, God does perform mighty and wondrous things on our behalf without action on our part. But as mentioned above when faced with trials we may not see that as an opportunity to grow but only as trouble. We could look at Abraham, Moses, the centurion with a sick servant, the lepers that were healed and sent to the priest, over and over again some form of action was required.
So in closing, I say this, if you are feeling defeated consider inviting God into the situation. Ask for wisdom and guidance, and don't go it alone. Surrender those burdens to the Lord "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30), Don't tie a string to those burdens where you can pull them back, hand them over and cut the string and move on. Is it not he (God) who fights for us (Exodus 14:14). God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread, for it is the Lord your God that goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6-8). And the last one for today 1 Peter 5:7 cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. I hope this has blessed someone today, as it surely has me. Prayers and love always.
