Faith and work - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 17:16,

"The people of Joseph replied, 'The hill country is not enough for us,
and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with
iron, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the
Valley of Jezreel.'"

The "people of Joseph", the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, verse 14,
complained they needed more land for themselves when the promised land
was divided up among the tribes of Israel. They approached Joshua who
told them to clear the forest in the hill country of Ephraim and this
was their response.

They would have to work for the additional land they had not yet
occupied, and trust God to give them the military victory, in spite of
the advantage the Canaanites had with their iron chariots.

Have faith in God, and work to receive what God promised them..

Sometimes we get the notion that when God gives us something, he just
drops it in our laps. Sometimes work, effort, exertion, pain and sweat
on our part are required to acquire good things from God - and a great
deal of faith.

I'm not thinking of our salvation here. Jesus did all the heavy
lifting for that. As we read in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it
is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." There is
nothing we can do to embellish the suffering of our loving Messiah on
that horrible cross to pay our redemption price. That we obtain by
faith and faith alone.

However, following our assimilation into the family of God, further
things may require effort. Growing in our understanding of the things
of God, developing a grasp of God's will and his agenda for us all,
knowing God intimately will require effort on our part.

Faith in God and work on our part, just as the tribes of Ephraim and
Manasseh would have to invest in order to expand their inheritance in
the promised land, is something we all need to consider. I am reminded
of Philippians 2:12-13, "... continue to work out your salvation with
fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act
in order to fulfill his good purpose."

As Paul continued his thought in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do."

What is it I should be believing God for today and what effort should
I be making?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com