I can't escape from the fact that every time God is trying to teach me something, I see reminders of it everywhere.
In church, the pastor talked about how God is not satisfied leaving us where we are. He will forever continue to work on us.
"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands." (Psalm 138:8)
He also did a series on the fruits of the Spirit that reminded me that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control are not traits that I can manifest but are traits that the Holy Spirit working in me manifests.
So it's not a coincidence that after writing about this in my prayer journal that today's devotion talked about letting God do his work in us that we can't do for ourselves and quoted Philippians 1:6, "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Or that I followed that devotion by reading a chapter in my book about apologetics that refuted the philosophy of self-helpism, the theory that we can change ourselves if we just put our minds to it, when in reality we can work hard but can't change who we really are --- sinful --- without God's grace and work in us.
OK, God. I get it.
I need to stop thinking that I can do better if I only work harder, concentrate more, am more self-disciplined. It's only taken 32 years of failure in that aspect for me to realize that I can press on for more, but only God's grace in my life can actually accomplish anything.
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