“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” -Philippians 2:13

Here we see a helpful verse in Scripture that shows how God works in a believer’s heart to do the will of God.

First, it says that it is God that is doing the work. That is, He is the one that enables us, and causes us to desire what He desires. In finding and performing the will of God, it begins with God, but it ends with man. It begins with God planting in us the capabilities to perform his bidding, yet also, it rests upon our shoulders to respond to His impulses and do “[H]is good pleasure.”

Secondly, Philippians 2:13 says that God works in us to have the will to do His will. That is, God puts into the heart of every believer to share in the desires of God. We are enabled to have this grace, to feel as God feels—and if we do not resist or contradict this grace through sin or hardheartedness—it will grow and become more and more apparent as we grow closer to the Lord.

We will love what He loves, and hate what He hates. Later in Scripture we see a commendation to the church at Ephesus of a similar principle:

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”-Revelation 2:6

Lastly, we see in the verse at the top of this page that God works in a Christian’s heart to enable him to do the will of God. Not only does God give His people the will and desire to do that which is right, but He also gives them the strength and the ability to carry those desires out.

As the apostle Paul wrote so succintly later in his epistle to the Philippians:

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” -Philippians 4:13

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Christian Devotions/Bible Study by Dean