Stewardship Devotional Day 1
Experiencing God Reality #1 – God is always at work around you.

                Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure.” In the context of this verse Paul encourages the church to ‘work out their salvation.’ Paul did not suggest we work for our salvation, but rather, we exercise our faith. We exercise our faith by growing in the Word daily. Spending quality time in God’s Word and in prayer every day is imperative to growing in Christ. As we practice spiritual disciplines daily we will soon realize how God is working in us to fulfill His purpose in our lives for His glory.

                As we experience God working in us we begin to see how God is working around us. Our eyes are opened to miraculous things that God is doing. Too often we are blind to what God is doing. Instead of ‘working out our salvation’ and letting God work in us for His glory, we lose our focus. This is why Paul said in the next verse, “Do all things without complaining and disputing.” Every dispute that arises in the church is rooted in personal pride and sin. Even disputes over what we think is a worthy cause, something worth fighting for, is rooted in someone along the way losing their focus. When we open our eyes and see how God is working, then we have nothing to complain about. We have nothing to dispute over. Whether you see it or not, God is always at work. He is always saving lost souls. He is always drawing people close to Him. He is always healing. He is always forgiving. He is always working miracles. There is always something good that God is doing. When our focus is in the right place we can take comfort in that fact that “All things work together for the good…”

                Stewardship begins with seeing God at work. When we open our eyes and our heart and mind is in the right place, we see God working and we are drawn to be a part of what He is doing. The desire to be a part of what God is doing is the foundation of stewardship. Therefore, look up. Renew your focus. Never forget that God is always at work around you!