It is in walking with God that you walk into your destiny.

Not only does our personal “serviced” or “maintained” relationship with God open the floodgates for grace to be poured abundantly into our lives but it is also what enables and secures our destinies on earth. As Christ declared in John 15:5, it represents the bedrock of all our fruitfulness as ordained by the Creator:
 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Without walking closely with Him and relating with Him on a personal level, you will neither discover nor fulfil your destiny in Christ here on earth.  It is imperative, therefore, that each one of us takes ownership and personal responsibility for our communion and walk with Christ. It is now up to us to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 – 13), i.e. to take matters into our own hands and with all earnestness and very seriously indeed “work out our own salvation”. 

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.                    Philippians 2:12 – 13

“With fear and trembling” means with respect and utmost care, with discipline and all due diligence, not negligently or casually. And why approach it with such seriousness? Because it is none other than God Himself who is at work in you to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:13). It is the triune God Himself; Father, Son and Holy Spirit who is at work in you influencing your very will and directing your steps. Because it is God who is at work in you, you too should value and approach it with matching diligence and discipline.

Do not undermine or undervalue God’s labour in your life but match it with deserving diligence and industry, work out your salvation in fear and trembling, with all due respect; in awe and reverence.  It is because an awesome God has taken individual interest in you me and is tirelessly labouring away in our lives that we too ought to match it with diligence and discipline in awe of His working in us and out of respect for “such a great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3) we have received from Him.

It is absolutely clear where the responsibility now lies – with each one of us, to take the initiative, to unravel, work out the treasures of our salvation that was wrought for us by Christ and received freely by grace through faith. There is no working to earn salvation here. That is not the aim nor is it what Scripture teaches. Rather, it is working the benefits of our salvation out into the open, into our lives, unlocking all the treasures that it came with. This is primarily achieved through the medium of a close walk with the Saviour, an intimate relationship, a close communion. This is what we must give utmost attention to in our lives, this is what we must heed as a matter of first priority if we are to fulfil our destinies and potential on earth, if we are to live fulfilled and maximised lives here and now.

Without this element of a close walk with the Author of our salvation, we are on the road to failure with respect to our personal destinies and callings. In fact, by neglecting and sidelining our personal relationship and walk with our Creator, by not walking with Him in everything we do and are, we fall short of the very intent of our creation in the first place and that which Christ died to restore – fellowship with the Father.

Therefore making time to commune with God through the act of daily personal devotion and intentionally walking with Him in everything we do by involving Him in every aspect of our lives (no distinction here between sacred and secular), not only represents the major avenue for accessing His grace freely in our lives but is also the number one prerequisite to fulfilling our God-ordained destinies not to mention the fact that the communion in itself is the very reason of our creation.

Our personal walk with God is neither surplus to requirement nor burdensome but essential to life and the source of our comprehensive fulfillment.

Though there are numerous aids and tools plus the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before us to help us establish a lifestyle of walking closely with God, it remains our individual responsibilities to do so. God has through Christ done His part. Now it remains for us to do ours. And so the onus is on us (no one else!) to, as the apostle states in Philippians 2:12, take ownership of our salvation and work it out ourselves.

In the next blog we’ll look at these varied tools and aids as well as learn from the wisdom of those who have gone ahead of us but for now, it’s over to you to take ownership and responsibility and start doing something about it.