Most beneficial things take effort, don’t they?
At times we need to remind ourselves of that. “No pain, no gain” is our encouragement when exercising. Each step in that process is a choice we make. It takes effort, but it is worth it!
Our spiritual health needs to be conditioned as well. Only through accepting Jesus’ sacrifice can we be seen as righteous in God’s sight. Our spiritual growth to become to become more like Christ is worth the effort. The first step is obeying God as the Holy Spirit works in us.
Jesus sets the example of humble obedience to God, and we are to have a similar attitude (Philippians 2:5-8). Paul writes that we are to work out our salvation in reverent thanks for God’s grace through Jesus’ gift of salvation. We demonstrate our gratefulness by submitting to God as he works in us (v. 12-13).
Sometimes our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. It is good to be reminded that growing in our faith demands perseverance. The apostle James reminds us that faith without works is dead. We have to put forth effort to practice what we learn, in our relationship with the Lord and in our service to others. Obedience takes effort with the choices we make.
We choose to please God, rather than ourselves. We choose to spend time growing in our faith. We choose to nurture our relationship with Jesus, listening to him through the Word and godly counsel, talking with him through praise and prayer.
Scriptures memorized, prayer, and praise are weapons used against selfishness and the devil’s schemes. Let’s remember who our God is and what he says. Aren’t you glad he is trustworthy?
In Luke 9:23, Jesus says following him comes by denying our self and taking up our cross daily, being willing to suffer for his name’s sake. As we exercise our faith, there’s no gain without pain as we daily submit to Jesus’ lordship.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to be at work in us, we can see the fruit of the discipline we have put in to grow in godliness. The more we love the Lord, the more we want to obey him. He is worth it!