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Brothers, Help Them Act the Miracle | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed thinking. We're glad you're joining us as
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we try to understand biblical truths and you know, how they
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actually applied day-to-day. Today we're doing a deep dive
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focusing on, well, a really central teaching how God's
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enablement works alongside our own efforts as we grow in
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Christ. Yeah, that's right.
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We'll be looking closely at Philippians Chapter 2 and
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drawing on some thoughts from theologians like John Piper,
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Jonathan Edwards too. Good stuff.
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The idea is really to sort of distill the main points from
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these sources, hopefully giving you a clearer handle on this
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wall, this dynamic. We really hope it helps you see
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how understanding this can shape your own walk, maybe guide you
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toward a clearer, more gospel focused life.
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We've got Piper's writings here, some related theological
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discussions. Our mission, really for this
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deep dive is to pull out the most helpful bits, trying to
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shed light on that relationship between God's work in us and our
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own activity. Yeah, it's a relationship, not a
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contradiction. So let's let's unpack this.
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Our starting point, really the foundation for so much of
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Christian living is Philippians 2 verses 12 and 13.
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It says work out your own salvation, for it is God who
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works in you, both to will and to work.
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Foundational. Now that phrase Work out your
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own salvation. When you first hear that, what
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tends to jump to mind for a lot of people?
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Maybe it sounds like you have to earn something.
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Yeah, or like it's all on you, this heavy burden.
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Exactly. But the actual meaning seems
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much richer, doesn't it? It's sort of reshapes how we see
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our own role in this. It really does, and that's where
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understanding the original Greek is.
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Well, it's pretty indispensable. The verb used there, Catergasus
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type, right? It's translated workout, but
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it's not suggesting something casual.
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It's not passive waiting. The word itself points to
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producing something, bringing it out, you know, affecting
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something through real effort. OK, affecting something, yeah.
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So when Paul uses it, he's signaling A continuous,
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sustained, even strenuous effort from us.
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It's this picture of a persistent, intentional pursuit
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of holiness. Not just, you know, vaguely
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hoping we grow. So more like a Craftsman working
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diligently. That's a good image.
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The workout describes that intense, focused labor needed to
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bring something towards completion.
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It's definitely not about earning salvation.
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That's freely given. Right.
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Crucial distinction. It's about living out the
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salvation we've already received actively.
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That gives it a whole different feel.
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Strenuous effort. When you think about that in
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terms of spiritual growth, what kind of picture does that paint?
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It's clearly more than say a quick prayer here and.
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There oh much more. The sources we looked at compare
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this effort to things like a pursuit, you know, falling after
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something, pressing on. Like racing or fighting?
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Exactly. A contest, a fight, a race.
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These images, they're really vivid, aren't they?
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They challenge any idea we might have of just, you know,
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passively coasting in the Christian life.
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They really do. How does that imagery, that
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sense of spiritual athletics or combat, shape what we should
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expect? What kind of practical effort
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does it actually call for day-to-day?
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Well, they shatter that passive faith idea, don't they?
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A race isn't just showing up. It's the training, the
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discipline, pushing through when you're tired, focusing to
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finish. You don't win by wishing.
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You don't in a fight, same thing.
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It demands deliberate strategic engagement.
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So the Christian life through this lens, it isn't some
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comfortable walk in the park. It's a deliberate energetic
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forward movement. Meaning meaning it requires our
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conscious will, our minds engage, our actual physical
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actions lining U. It means, you know, choosing to
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open the Bible when you're tired.
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Choosing prayer when distractions pull you away.
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Choosing self-control over impulse.
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Precisely. It's a daily thing, sometimes an
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hourly thing. Engaging with our faith and
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every part of life, applying what we believe it means,
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bringing our whole selves into living out this salvation.
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Recognizing it's a call to be diligent, active participants.
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And this is where it gets, well, really mind bending, because
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this strenuous human effort connects directly to what
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Jonathan Edwards called a theological paradox.
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God does all and we do all. I mean, hearing that, it sounds
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like a straight up contradiction, doesn't it?
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How can God do all and we do all at the same time?
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It does sound puzzling at first, but it's presented not as a
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confusing contradiction, but as a deep reality about how grace
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works. Edwards helps clarify this.
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He says God is the only proper author and fountain.
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OK, the source. Right.
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Well, humans are the proper actors, so in different ways
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we're both wholly passive and wholly active.
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Wholly passive and wholly active.
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How does that work? Can you give an example?
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Yeah, think about it like this. Imagine a parent teaching a
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toddler to walk. The parent holds the child's
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hands right? Providing the stability, maybe
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even most of the forward motion, enabling every step.
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OK, I can picture that. So in one sense, the child is
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passively being moved forward by the parent's strength, but at
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the very same time the child's legs are moving, their muscles
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are working, they're engaging their balance, they're actively
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taking the steps. I see the parents complete help
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results in the child's complete action.
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Exactly. It's not like the parent does
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some steps in, the child does others.
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The parents total enablement produces the child's total
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activity, Edwards argues. God actually produces our very
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acts, our strenuous efforts. The flexing of our spiritual
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muscles is actually the continuous, sustained effort of
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God himself within us. Wow.
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So God isn't just giving us a battery pack and sending us off.
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No, He's the ongoing power source.
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He enables our willingness and our action.
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This keeps us from fatalism, just waiting for God, because
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our real human activity is essential to His plan.
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And it stops us thinking we can save ourselves because our
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action depends completely on his enabling.
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Precisely. It's quite something to think
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that God enables your very willing and acting.
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It means your effort isn't pointless, it's aligned with His
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purpose and power. So it's not dividing the work.
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5050 Our genuine, wholehearted activity is itself the result of
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his activity in us. That's a big shift in thinking
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it is. And John Piper uses this phrase,
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acting the miracle to describe this dynamic.
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That phrase also sounds a bit counterintuitive.
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A miracle is usually something God just does to us, right?
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Without our input. Yeah, we often think of it that
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way, like a sudden healing or something.
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But acting the miracle is different.
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How so? It means believers aren't just
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sitting back waiting for God to ZAP away sin without them doing
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anything. Instead, it means they actively
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engage their own will in the fight against sin.
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OK, actively engaged. Yes, God is the decisive 'cause
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He's the ultimate power, the ultimate director.
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But our human will is the active agent in the process, and this
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active engagement happens when we obey the command to work.
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So not just hoping sin disappears, but vigorously
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participating in getting rid of it, enabled by the Spirit.
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Exactly. Think about, say, reacting with
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anger, Acting. The miracle isn't waiting for
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the anger to vanish. It's by God's Spirit actively
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choosing, engaging your will to say no to it, to turn your
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thoughts, maybe speak kindly, even when everything inside
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wants to lash out. So that active choice that will
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turn it is the miracle God works through you.
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That's the idea. It reframes spiritual progress
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completely. It's not passive waiting for
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divine intervention to clean us up.
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It's being ready to act the miracle through a spirit enabled
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will. Meaning when you fight sin, that
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very fight, that active use of your will, is God's work in you.
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It's His grace manifesting. It becomes as cooperative
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dynamic. God's grace enables our genuine
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human effort, and our effort isn't separate from his work is
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the working out of. Okay, and Piper apparently
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gained fresh insight into this during a specific time in his
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life, right? He took a sabbatical.
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Yes, a very significant period. An 8 month leave of absence from
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all pastoral duties. No preaching, writing, blogging,
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church stuff. He called it a soul check.
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A soul check. What would that actually look
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like for someone? It sounds intense and
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vulnerable. It does.
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And it wasn't just rest for him. He described engaging in
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extensive, deliberate soul searching involving his wife and
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a counselor. His goal was very specific.
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Identify his most intransigent. Sins transigent like the really
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stubborn ones. Exactly those deeply rooted
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patterns that resist easy change.
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And then his goal was to make war on them in new ways.
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This wasn't a casual look. It was like a deep spiritual
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audit. Wow.
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And he felt that knowing his own soul that deeply, the hidden
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currents would also help him understand and minister better
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to others. That makes sense.
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Personal growth isn't just for us, it impacts our service.
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Right, it shows that vital link. Imagine the courage needed for
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that level of self examination, knowing it's for greater
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integrity and better ministry. It really calls for honest
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self-assessment. And he was remarkably open about
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what he found. Wasn't he sharing his most
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besetting sins? Extremely transparent.
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He named them selfishness, anger, self pity, quickness to
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blame, and sullenness. For a public figure to share
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that takes real humility. He pinpointed selfishness as
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being virtually the same as pride, and called it the deep,
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broad corruption that is at the bottom of it all.
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Selfishness has the root. What does that tell us about how
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sin works? And how might we see that deep,
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broad corruption in our own struggles, if we're honest?
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It's a searching question. Seeing selfishness is the root
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suggests that many of our outward sins are really just
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symptoms of that deeper self focus.
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It's not just about isolated bad actions, but a basic orientation
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of the heart. Like my anger might seem to be
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about what someone else did, but really it's because my desires
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got blocked. Exactly which is selfishness or
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self pity might seem like a response to hardship, but often
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it's a demand for attention. Again, self-centered, it forces
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us to look past surface behaviors and ask what's the
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underlying demand for my way, my comfort, my recognition here?
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Shifting the battle from managing symptoms to the source.
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Right, and Piper broke down selfishness into 5 specific
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reflex traits. He called them reflexes because
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they come from nature, not reflection.
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They're automatic, unthinking responses rooted in original
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sin. Not premeditated, just instant
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reactions. Pretty much.
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First, a reflex to expect to be served just assuming others
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should cater to us. Second, a reflex to feel he is
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owed a sense of entitlement, like we deserve certain things
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or treatment. Third, a reflex to want praise,
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that craving for human approval often driving what we do.
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Yeah, I recognize that one. 4th a reflex to expect that things
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will go his way, a subtle assumption that our plans and
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preferences should just happen. And 5th, a reflex to feel he has
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the right to react negatively to being crossed when things don't
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go our way. Feeling justified in frustration
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or anger. These aren't conscious choices
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to be selfish, then, but ingrained patterns revealing how
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sin effects our basic expectations and reactions.
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Exactly. It's like an internal tripwire,
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isn't it? Yeah.
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Our desires are crossed, our expectations violated, and these
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reactions just erupt, sometimes before we even think, Yeah.
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And Piper saw that when this core selfishness gets crossed,
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it tends to manifest in those other sins he listed, like anger
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or sullenness. How do these reflexes trigger
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those right? It doesn't just sit quietly, it
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explodes. Take anger.
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If you expect things your way and something blocks that, a
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plan changes. Someone disappoints that
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immediate urge to strike out. Often it's frustrated
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selfishness, self assertion against an obstacle.
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Makes sense? What about self pity?
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Well, if you feel owed something or expect to be served and it
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doesn't happen, you feel wounded.
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Self pity then becomes a way to demand sympathy, making others
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feel your pain. It's a self focused grief
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looking for validation. OK.
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And blaming. Quickness to blame comes
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straight from expecting things your way and feeling you have
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the right to react badly when they don't.
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Instead of owning your part, the reflex is to point the finger,
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maybe just with a tone or a look.
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It protects your own sense of being right.
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A defense mechanism. Got it.
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And sullenness. Sullenness, that sinking
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discouragement, moodiness, withdrawal.
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It can be a passive aggressive response when expectations are
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crossed or you feel something owed wasn't given.
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Instead of confronting, you withdraw emotionally, making
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others feel the tension, still subtly demanding attention.
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And Piper mentioned how these impacted his marriage, his wife
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feeling blamed, not cherished. It really shows how these
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internal battles spill out and hurt relationships, draining
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hope. Which underlines how vital this
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self-awareness and act of fighting are not just for us,
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but for those around us. Absolutely for personal holiness
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and healthy relationships. These insights are incredibly
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practical. Our inner struggles have real
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outward effects. You mentioned earlier that a
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gospel aligned life is in step with the truth of the gospel.
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How do Piper's struggles stand against that ideal?
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And what does the Gospel offer? Well, they stand in stark
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contrast, right? The gospel isn't just about
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forgiveness. It gives a new way of living, a
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new nature. Those struggles, selfishness,
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anger, blame, are fundamentally out of step because the gospel
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calls us to self giving, love, humility, forgiveness, joy in
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Christ. A life worthy of the Gospel
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shows Christ's character more and more.
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Exactly. And the good news is the cross
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addresses this directly in two ways.
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First, it cancels our sin completely and provides the
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perfect righteousness we need for justification, our right
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standing with God. That's done.
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Finished. OK, justification first.
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Yes. And 2nd, through that
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justification, the cross unleashes the power, the
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enablement for sanctification, that ongoing process of becoming
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more like Christ, growing in holiness.
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This order seems absolutely vital.
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Cancellation first, then conquering Piper's line.
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Quoting Wesley, he breaks the strength of cancelled sin.
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That's not just poetry, is it? Not at all.
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It's theology with massive practical weight.
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The sequence justification before sanctification is
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critical. Why?
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Yeah, What happens if we mix that up, If we try to conquer
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sin before it's canceled, before we're justified?
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If we try to conquer unforgiven sin, we end up trying to become
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our own saviors. We're trying to clean ourselves
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up to earn God's favor. We fight under the crushing
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weight of guilt, thinking our performance determines our
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standing. Which is completely exhausting
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and demoralizing. Utterly self defeating, it leads
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straight to legalism, burnout and despair.
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When we fail because we realize we can't be good enough on our
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own, OK, but when we grasp that our sin is already canceled by
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Christ's finished work, the whole motivation changes.
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We fight from acceptance, not for it.
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That's the key. The strength of our sinning is
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broken because our sins are forgiven.
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This freedom is immense. We fight out of gratitude for
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the favor we already have, not to earn it.
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The power to break sins hold is released because Christ took the
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penalty. OK, that makes a world of
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difference which? Is why the New Testament shows
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Christ's death activating our ability to fight sin in, well,
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three main ways. We can see and all of them equip
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our will to oppose sin. Fighting because we're right
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with God not to get right with God.
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OK, let's get into those three ways the cross enables us.
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How does each one equip our will?
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Right, the first way is through dying with Christ, Romans 6.5
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For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we
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shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like His.
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This isn't just abstract theology, it's a call to act.
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Also, because we're united with Christ in his death, Paul says
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we should consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in
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Christ Jesus. That's Romans 6 point of it.
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And right after verse 12, let not sin therefore reign in your
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mortal body. So the command follows the
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reality. Exactly how does it equip the
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will? By faith.
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We grab hold of the truth. Sins, power over us is broken.
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Our old self died with Christ. So when temptation comes, we
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actively tell ourselves I'm dead to that.
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That's not who I am anymore. Christ freed me.
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It's an active, mental and volitional thing, choosing to
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live out the new identity. Yes, engaging with that
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spiritual reality enables our will to say no to sin's reign.
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Making theology intensely practical.
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Our identity in Christ's death fuels the fight.
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What's the second way? 2nd is being bought by Christ
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First Corinthians 6 verses 19 to 20 You are not your own for you
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were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
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This hits home that we belong to God now.
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We're His property redeemed from Sin's slave market.
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Right. How does that equip the will
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when we realize our bodies, minds, wills aren't ours to just
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do whatever we want with, but they're temples of the Spirit,
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bought with Christ's blood. That's a huge incentive for
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holiness. It changes how you view yourself
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and your choices. Totally, when tempted to misuse
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our bodies time, thoughts, the will is equipped to say, hang
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on, I belong to Christ. My job is to glorify God in my
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body. This action dishonor is the one
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who bought me. It redirects desires and
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energizes the will for God's glory.
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That's a strong motivation, being owned by God through
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costly redemption. OK.
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And the third way? 3rd is being forgiven in Christ
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Ephesians 4.32 Be kind to one another, tender hearted,
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forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.
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This directly links receiving forgiveness to extending it,
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empowering our will for godly relationships.
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How does being forgiven equip us to say be kind or forgive
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others? When we really grasp the sheer
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scale of God's forgiveness toward us, how we absorb the
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infinite cost of a rebellion through Christ, it breaks the
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power of bitterness and resentment in our own hearts.
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So when someone wrongs us and the temptation is to hold a
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grudge or hit back, our will is equipped by remembering how we
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were forgiven. We're prompted to choose
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kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness, not because they
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deserve it, but because we received it undeservedly.
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It empowers the will to act like the gospel, even when our gut
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reaction is the opposite. Precisely so in all three.
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Dying with Him, bought by Him, forgiving in him.
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The driving force for holiness for killing sin is Christ's work
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on the cross, and the link between that work and our
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conquered sin is our will equipped by his sacrifice.
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And these commands are aimed right at our will.
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We're called to do something, engage actively, but always
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because of what Christ did. OK, but where does the actual
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power, the strength for our will to do this fighting come from?
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And that brings us squarely to the Holy Spirit.
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Absolutely essential. The strength that engages our
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will, brings it alive, carries it along.
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Make sure it's a cross exulting will.
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That strength is the Holy Spirit.
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Romans 8.13 seems key here. If by the Spirit you put to
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death the deeds of the body, you will live.
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Exactly. It's not just a helpful
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suggestion, it's the divine method for victory.
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Our will to fight sin, while genuinely ours, isn't self
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generated. It's energized and sustained by
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God's Spirit living in us so that.
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Feeling of resolve against temptation isn't just me
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gritting my teeth. It might feel like that
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sometimes, but ultimately that resolve, if it's effective, is
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the spirit at work in you, empowering your will.
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And the Spirit's work is called a blood bought gift tied to the
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New Covenant, secured by Christ's death.
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You mentioned Ezekiel 36, the promise of a new heart, new
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Spirit. Yes, and 1st Corinthians 11, the
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new covenant in his blood. Christ's death guarantees the
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Spirit's sanctifying presence and work and believers.
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It's all connected, initiated and secured by God, but
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expressed through our activity. So how does this actually play
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out for us? It means the link between the
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cross and our victory over sin is a Holy Spirit enabled will.
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When we work or will or serve or put sin to death, It's truly us
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acting, but it's always enabled by another will, the Spirit's
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will, Christ's will, God's will, the will of grace.
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Like Peter says, whoever ministers do it by the strength
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God supplies. Right first, Peter 4.11, even
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our active service is only effective when it's God powered.
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And Paul says something similar in First Corinthians 15.10,
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doesn't he? Yeah, I worked harder than any
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of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is
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with me. He owns the effort, but credits
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the grace. Exactly.
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He recognizes his immense effort but immediately points to God's
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grace as the source. So our deepest desires for
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holiness, our hardest efforts to obey, our firmest stands against
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sin. They're all energized by the
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Holy Spirit. It's this intimate, ongoing
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partnership. It's empowering presence, making
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our active obedience possible. And real this means God actually
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intends for part of our sanctification experience to
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involve this conscious willed opposition to specific sins.
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That's why the commands are there.
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Put sin to death, minister. He means for us to actively get
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in the fight. Not be spiritual robots, but
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real humans responding willingly, powered
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supernaturally. OK, you mentioned Piper had a
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breakthrough here, realizing an inconsistency in his own
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approach. Yes, it's a very honest moment,
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he shares. For decades he'd used a
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rigorous, active battle plan against sexual temptation.
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Very proactive, engaging his will aggressively.
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But he realized he applied that strategy hardly at all to his
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other main struggles, the anger, self pity, blaming, sullenness.
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He admitted being strangely passive victim like about.
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Those Why? What was his thinking?
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He'd mistakenly thought those sins should somehow be defeated
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more spontaneously with less direct use of his will.
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He worried that attacking them head on with his will would just
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create outward conformity, not real internal change.
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It's a really common thought, isn't it?
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That some sins need effort but others should just fade away if
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we're spiritual. Enough.
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It is a huge inconsistency to spot in yourself having a
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strategy for one area but being passive than others.
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Can you describe that ANTHEM strategy he used?
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It sounds like a good example of the active engagement he later
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applied more broadly. Sure, ANTHEM.
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It's a mnemonic, A practical battle plan for acting
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decisively against temptation. OK, avoid consciously.
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Steer clear of known temptations.
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Proactive. Don't walk into the trap.
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Makes sense N. Say NO within 5 seconds.
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Quick, decisive refusal. Don't entertain it.
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Don't debate it. Reject it immediately.
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That's direct. Will engagement turn?
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Turn your mind to something magnificent, like Christ
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crucified. Redirect your focus to gospel
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truths, away from the temptation.
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Change your spiritual gaze. Hold the pure thing, the truth,
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in your mind until the temptation fades.
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Persevere in Focusing on God's truth requires sustained mental
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effort. Enjoy.
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Enjoy the greater pleasure of God's blood.
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Bought promises. Find satisfaction to God.
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Recognizing His way brings deeper lasting joy than sins.
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Fleeting appeal. Cultivate.
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Delight in God. Move on.
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Move on to meaningful Christ Exalting activity.
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Redirect your actions productively.
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Don't let your mind idle and become vulnerable again.
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That's very concrete. Very.
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And Piper said about lust. There's nothing passive in my
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will. I don't lie down and wait for a
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miracle. I act the miracle that shows the
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vigorous, immediate engagement he used.
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So Philippians 2.11213 brought that same active stance into
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focus for his other sins, Breaking through the
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inconsistency. How did the passage clarify
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things for him in those three areas you mentioned?
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It was revolutionary for him. First, the meaning of workout.
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He saw It wasn't vague. It meant produce, bring about
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effect through continuous, sustained, strenuous effort.
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Just like the ANTHEM plan. So the same kind of effort was
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required for anger or self pity. Exactly the light bulb moment
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the command to work out demanded the same active willed fight
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across all sin, not just certain ones.
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OK, second point. Second, the scope of salvation.
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He realized the salvation to work out wasn't just escaping
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hell. Eventually it included concrete
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deliverance from these specific sins.
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Anger, self pity, blame, sullenness in his daily life
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right now. So getting specific about the
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battle, not just general holiness, right?
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He resolved to bring about deliverance from these sins by
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engaging his will directly, applying that active strategy,
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not just waiting for them to vanish.
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And the third area? Yes, work out your own salvation
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with fear and trembling. It's totally transformed.
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For him it's some feeling like a threat, like work hard or God
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gets mad. What did it become?
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It became this breathtaking gift.
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The reason for the fear and trembling isn't fear of
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punishment. It's the awesome reality that
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God Almighty is so intimately close.
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That you're working and willing is His working and willing.
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Your continuous, sustained, strenuous effort is the very
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effort of God Himself within you.
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So the trembling is holy reverence, awe at God's active
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presence. It's fighting sin with all its
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might, trembling because it is God himself willing and my
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willing. That's incredible, not a burden,
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but a privilege to partner with God so closely.
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Our effort is his work through US.
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Yes, a divine human partnership in the closest sense.
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And Piper gave a really down to earth example of this, didn't
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he, from a Sunday evening? Can you set that scene?
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Yeah, it's very relatable. Picture it cozy, snowy Sunday
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evening at home. Piper's looking forward to just
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relaxing with family, his wife Noel, their teenage daughter
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Talitha, quiet time together. Sounds nice peaceful than the
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trigger. The trigger was small, seemingly
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minor. Talitha and Noel decide to watch
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a show, Super Nanny on the computer.
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They just sort of did it without asking him or suggesting
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something they could all do. OK, maybe a bit thoughtless, but
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easily overlooked. For many, maybe, but for Piper,
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deep in this soul check, it immediately hit those buttons.
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The temptation to anger, self pity, blame, sullenness welled
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up. And crucially, he recognized it
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as just as dangerous spiritually as a sexual temptation.
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Seeing those relational reflexes as serious threats.
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Exactly, and his immediate spirit enabled response wasn't
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an outward reaction. No sighing, no sharp words.
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He said A silent, decisive no to the feelings rising up.
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OK then. Quietly, without any outward
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sign of being wounded or sullen, which would have just put
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everyone on edge, he went upstairs to his study.
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So he retreated to fight the battle internally first.
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What did that waging war look like in his study?
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Did he use the ANTHEM? Ideas.
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Yes, he consciously waged war, not passive waiting.
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He immediately applied the turn and hold principles.
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He deliberately turned his mind and heart away from the self
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pity and anger and toward God's truth.
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Like what specifically? He listed things like the
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promises of God, the surety of the cross, the love of the
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Father, the wealth of my inheritance, the blessings of
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that day, the patience of Christ.
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He didn't just glance at these, he consciously held them in his
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mind, meditated on them. Forcing his thoughts onto God's
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reality instead of his own feelings.
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Right. Maybe you're recalling specific
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verses on God's love or Christ's patience with Him, focusing on
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his true satisfaction being in God, not in getting His
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preferred family activity right then.
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And he used the phrase beat down those feelings.
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Yeah, he beat down the anger and self pity and blaming and
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sullenness with the blood, bought promises of God until
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they were effectively gone. It was a fight consciously
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pushing back against those reflexes, using the gospel as
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his weapon. Reminding himself he was
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forgiven, that God's grace was enough.
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Probably enjoying the greater pleasure, finding delight in
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God's sufficiency to counter feeling slighted.
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This internal wrestling, focusing His will on God's
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truth, went on until the sinful emotions lost their grip.
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He chose not to let them rule, actively putting them to death
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by the Spirit's power. That is such a clear picture of
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acting the miracle, not waiting for feelings to change, but
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actively engaging His will, powered by the Spirit, anchored
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in the Gospel. What was the result?
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How did things go with his family afterwards?
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The result was a real spiritual victory for him.
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He dealt with the sin in his heart before it could spill out
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and cause damage. So later that night, instead of
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the old patterns of sullenness or blame, he was able simply to
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calmly talk with Noel about his surprise.
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They hadn't done something together.
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And it just worked it out. Yes, they worked it out.
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The conversation could happen peacefully, built on respect,
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not wounded pride. Compared to how it might have
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gone before, Piper saw this as a great victory, not because the
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situation was perfect, but because his response was
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transformed by God working through his spear enabled will.
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Wow, that really brings it home high theology having very
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practical moment by moment application.
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It truly does. It shows God breaking the
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strength of canceled sin through our active spirit enabled will
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fighting with all its might. It turns potential conflict into
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grace. Yeah.
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So this whole deep dive into working out your salvation, I
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think it helps us see the Christian life isn't meant to be
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passive. It really does call for
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diligent, ongoing effort. But at the same time, it's such
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a comfort, isn't it? Knowing that this effort isn't
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just us straining in our own strength, it's fully enabled by
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God's gracious work inside us. Our striving isn't futile.
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What a relief really, to understand how our active fight
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against sin can actually be the very evidence of God's work in
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us all secured by Christ's cross, all brought about by the
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Spirit. So as you listening, reflect on
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all this, maybe consider this. Where in your own life, in your
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own struggles, might God be inviting you to recognize his
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enabling work more clearly, so that your earnest effort against
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sin becomes less of a burden and more visible expression of His
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faithful grace in you, a powerful acting of the miracle
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for his glory?