When God Throat Punches You, Count It Joy. Says God.

I have been absolutely mesmerized by the recent pictures of the Volcanic eruptions in Hawaii. How often do we think about the power beneath every step we take each day?  The Earth’s Outer core is liquid rock, moving freely beneath us each day, while its innermost core is solid, composed of an iron-nickel alloy (Wikipedia). I never thought about it until those amazing pictures of the Eruption in Hawaii recently forced my mind to take stock. I looked up facts on the Earth’s Core, on Volcanoes, etc.  I just couldn’t get over the immensity of what I was seeing.

This all made me think of what the Bible says in Philippians 2:12-13

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Oswald Chambers commented on this passage by saying this:

With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out…