- Sep 23, 2020
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GOD’S EXPECTATIONS OF US
As I have come to understand it, the Lord does not have any expectations for us other than that which is a product of the work he is doing within us.
…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13, NIV)
There exists within the human heart a strong urge to set up images of the qualities of character that make up the character of Christ, and to strain after this ideal. But no matter how hard we try it is impossible to walk in the glory of that which has been provided for us in Christ until the Lord himself brings about a transformation within our inner being.
This can cause sincere Christians much unnecessary anxiety and pain. This has been unnecessary because the moment he completes a particular phase of this eternal project we find ourselves to have entered into his rest (Hebrews 4:9‑11). In other words, we outwardly display what he has done within our spirit without any conscious effort on our part. What he has accomplished is now a part of our being. It is then that we understand that “I no longer live but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). We stop focusing upon our own efforts and “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
And when the Lord carries out these profound inner changes, he seldom does it in the ways or in the time-frame we have imagined. But he is in complete control, he knows what he is doing and what he does surpasses our ability to conceive or hope for.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20‑21, NIV)
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