Work Hard at Obeying God with Deep Reverence & Fear

Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT) Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Work hard by obeying God with deep reverence and fear. Jesus too, told people to fear God in Luke 12:5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear. But this fear or deep reverence has not solely to do with eternal punishment but to do with our daily attitude and thinking. Often we may unconsciously ask what we can get away with; are Christians allowed to work on a Sunday?  for example, when there are better and more fundamental questions to ask. Perhaps we should ask how best can I serve you? The command to have deep reverence and fear surely means we need to take what God says in his word very seriously. Is what we think about work, relationships, or leisure activities in line with what God says in his word? Is the way I behave displaying a readiness to obey God quickly or a careless disregard for what God wants? Not what I want but what God wants is what true reverence has to be about.   

Father, help us to make your name holy by living lives of deep reverence, humbly and obediently submitting to your will.