Philippians 2

¹²Therefore, my beloved,^(AA) as you have always^(AB) obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for^(AC) it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for^(AD) his good pleasure.
 ¹⁴Do all things^(AE) without grumbling or^(AF) questioning, ¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent,^(AG) children of God^(AH) without blemish^(AI) in the midst of^(AJ) a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine^(AK) as lights in the world, ¹⁶holding fast to^(AL) the word of life, so that in^(AM) the day of Christ^(AN) I may be proud that^(AO) I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷Even if I am to be^(AP) poured out as a drink offering upon^(AQ) the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

That phrase "work out your salvation" has had me hung up for about two weeks now. How is it that if salvation is a free gift of God that Paul tells us we must work it out? I don't think this means that we do some kind of work to earn our salvation but maybe that it takes continual effort for the work of salvation to be completed in us. We have to constantly put ourselves in a place where we allow God to work in us. This takes a considerable amount of effort.
I was listening to a podcast by Ravi Zacharias the other day in which he was explaining the Biblical balance between the responsibility of man and the sovereignty of God. He was trying to explain how although God's plans are not and cannot be voided by the actions of men, we do have freedom of choice. He used this verse as an example of this balance as mentioned in scripture. "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (responsibility of man) "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work, for His good pleasure." (sovereignty of God). The entire fate of mankind doesn't lie solely on the shoulders of men, but neither does it lie entirely in the hands of God unless we release it to Him. This is not to say that God's actions are dependant on us - not at all. But rather it is to say that the degree to which we become like Him and realize His plan for our lives is, to some degree, dependant on us. While God has a plan for each of our lives, he still gives us an opportunity to either give control over to Him or completely mess things up.
I believe this is the great struggle of humanity: to give up control of ourselves. Stated more simply, to give up control. This is the substance of Pride; the root of all sin. When we release ourselves and all He has given us back to Him, He is able to do some of His most incredible work. It is only when God has broken us of our pride that we are willing to admit that He is better able take care of us than we are to take care of ourselves. Only at this juncture can God truly "will and work" in us "for His good purpose". This is not meant to be a one-time act of contrition, but a continual process - a "working out" - of allowing God to chip away at our claim to ourselves; allowing Him to reveal the pieces of our beings that we didn't even know we were keeping from him; giving Him access to more and more of our minds and our hearts until He will one day, one glorious day, as we shake off the fetters of this life, become completely His.
The journey is long, but so is eternity. The cost is great, but not compared to our reward. Give us resolve, Lord, to continually commit ourselves whole-heartedly to the work You are doing in us. In Christ's Name.