Work It: How Galatians 5:9 Teaches Us to Co-Create a Risen Life

   "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." Galatians 5:9 (KSB)

                                                       

   It works if you work it. It doesn’t work if you don’t and nobody else can do the work for you. You have to work it yourself. In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul uses the image of yeast working through dough to symbolize how even a small principle or influence can shape the entire course of your life. He likens the journey of spiritual transformation to the making of bread: you co-create with God, applying divine principles, allowing them to spread through every area of your life until you rise into your full, God-ordained potential. Yeast or leaven, as it’s called in older translations has power. But that power is activated only when it's worked through the dough. Just like breadmaking, your life requires effort, intention, and the divine elements God has already provided. Jesus also used the image of bread. He said, "I AM the bread of life; whoever eats this bread will never hunger again." He broke bread and blessed it, saying, "This is my body, broken for you." Paul draws on this same image, reinforcing that Christ is our sustenance and the source of our rising.

   My spiritual teacher, the beloved Dr. Mary A. Tumkin, often said, "It works if you work it. It doesn’t work if you don’t and can’t nobody work it for you." This echoes wisdom from Johnny Coleman and the 12-step tradition: You have to do the inner work to see outward transformation. The dough represents your life. God has already given you the ingredients, your experiences, your talents, your challenges. The yeast represents the divine principles that make life rise: purpose, order, timing, provision, and protection. But they must be kneaded actively worked into every part of your life. I remember my godmother, Evangelist Janice Ellison, making homemade yeast rolls. She always added the yeast last, then worked it through with care. After shaping the dough and letting it rest, we’d watch it rise before it even entered the oven. Then, in the heat of baking, the rolls would rise even more. That’s your life: you rise through rest, but also through fire trials, challenges, heartaches, and victories.

   So, work it. Work those principles of divine truth into your daily choices. Let them rise in your thoughts, your actions, your relationships, and your dreams.

   Your Dough – Your Life

   Your Yeast – Your Principles

   Your Bread – Your Results

   What’s the yeast in your dough today? What divine principle is working in you to help you rise?

📖 Reflection: What spiritual principles are you actively working into your life today? Are they causing you to rise?

💡 Action Step: Identify one divine principle such as peace, order, or purpose and intentionally apply it throughout your day.