When Faith Comes To Dance…

Hey friends, have you ever gotten to a place in your spiritual life where doubt started to creep in and create a kind of identity crisis? Has that ever happened to you? It’s like one minute you’re faith is going strong, you’re connecting with God and things are fine, the next minute you’re questioning aspects of salvation that you never questioned before?

I think it’s important for us to recognize the need to really battle with our faith from time to time. It’s okay to ask the hard questions and, at times, discover you have some doubts. Scripture tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling…(Philippians 2:12). Paul doesn’t say “casually consider” or “flippantly cast aside”, no, he uses the word “work”.

Philippians 2:12 is a verse that can stop you in your tracks, isn’t it?
Work out your salvation? Like it’s some kind of cosmic CrossFit routine?
Suddenly, salvation feels less like grace and more like…a to-do list with a lot more sweat involved.

And then there’s the “fear and trembling” part. Yikes. That sounds intense.
Like we’re walking a spiritual tightrope, and one wrong move and whoosh – we’re plummeting into the abyss.

No pressure, right?

But what if… what if there’s something more going on here?
What if Paul’s not giving us a spiritual to-do list, but inviting us into something beautiful, something profound?

Think about it. “Work out” – the original Greek word is katergazomai. It’s not just about gritting your teeth and pushing through. It’s about bringing something to completion. It’s about cultivating something. Like a gardener tending a plant. You don’t just have a garden, you work it. You nurture it. You care for it. You bring it to its fullness.

My wife loves to garden.
I mean, sometimes even to the point of obsession.
But when she tends the plants, when she works at it, cultivating, hydrating, ensuring the soil has enough nutrients and is at a sufficient PH level, the gardens she is able to produce are magnificent. It’s beautiful, it’s profound. Where once was this kind of barren patch of grass, not a dark-rich, healthy soil contains vibrancy, life and beauty that causes some of our neighbors to be envious.

So, these words “Work out” means we bring something to completion. We cultivate our spiritual journeys, we nurture our faith even when the weeds of doubt tend to sprout up sometimes. And when we care for it, the right kind of faithful fruit is produced…

So maybe, just maybe, Paul’s saying that salvation isn’t a static thing you just get and then you’re done.
Maybe it’s something you participate in.
Something you grow into. Something you live.

And what about the fear and trembling? Is that about being terrified of God’s wrath? I don’t think so. I think it’s more about awe. It’s about recognizing the sheer magnitude of what God has done for us. It’s about being overwhelmed by the incredible, scandalous, mind-blowing love that’s been poured out on us. It’s a reverent, humble awareness of the divine mystery that surrounds us. Like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon – you’re not necessarily scared, but you’re definitely moved. You’re humbled.

See, this whole verse, it’s NOT about earning God’s love. It’s about responding to it. It’s about letting that love transform us from the inside out. It’s about allowing that grace to shape us, to mold us, to make us more like the people we were created to be. That, my friends is what the faith journey is all about. Not some secret formula, or mantra we utter every day. It’s not some kind of ritual we follow to make us more holy. It’s a journey that requires real work to cultivate the right soil for deeper roots.

It’s not about striving in our own strength. It’s about surrendering to the power of God’s love and letting that work in us, through us, and all around us.

So, yeah, work out your salvation. Not like it’s a burden, but like it’s a dance. A beautiful, messy, sometimes scary and occasionally out of rhythm, but it’s always an amazing dance with the Divine. And do it with awe. Do it with wonder. Do it with a heart overflowing with gratitude. Because that, my friends, is where the real transformation happens. That’s where the real life begins. Don’t be afraid of doubt. Let it wash over you sometimes like an off-beat in the rhythm of faith…then get back to the dance.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Scott.