God at Work in Circumstances

Do you feel that God doesn't care about your circumstances? That He is out there, somewhere, distant and disconnected? None of that is true of Him.

God and Circumstances

God is not indifferent to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
God is not powerless regarding the circumstances, either.
God is not unwise or unable to respond to our prayers, whether for ourselves or others.
God is holy and wholly in control, no matter if appearances are to the contrary.
God rules even over the unruly.
God hears the cries of His people.
What we need to do, then, is trust Him to bring about His will, in His time, and in His way.

Psalm 135:5-6: "For I know that the LORD is great and that our Lord  is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps."

God's work is invisible yet certain. Paul wrote to the Philippians: "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (1:6).

God at Work

God's work in the life of the believer begins with giving the believer spiritual life, faith, repentance, a thirst for righteousness, a desire for Christ-likeness, which were never there before.

Read Ephesians 2--Corpses do not crave the things of God; there is silence in the grave of a dead heart.

Read 1 Corinthians 2:10-16--God's work continues through His Spirit so the believer mourns now for sins which were once delightful. Repentance for the same comes more and more easily, though sin dogs the believer day in and day out through temptation and other means.

Read Romans 8--God's work of grace makes the once-craved sin less desirable and God's glory more the goal of the believer.

God's work in the believer includes pruning in season, that they may bring forth more fruit to God's glory--read John 15 and Galatians 5:22-23.

God knows each believer more intimately than they know themselves, having chosen each from before the foundation of the world and designed each for a special place in His church and kingdom--read Romans 8:28-30 and chapter 12.

God's work will never end, for God is eternal, though there will come a Day when all His elect are made perfect. Perfected and finally sinless, believers will serve God with the greatest of love, joy, and peace--for eternity.

Bearing the Unbearable (written some years ago)

Humans that we are, we seem called to bear the unbearable--
Such a loss as only the cross can carry.
Such a loss as of a child, born or not yet born;
Such a loss as of a sibling, however close you were in life;
Such a loss as of a spouse--sudden or expected--still sudden.
Such a loss as of a parent--in one way or another--
However close or not you were.
Such a loss of a relationship can seem unbearable--
But there is One who bears
The unbearable grief and
Tenderly brings relief,
Who calls us to His wounded side
In which we can abide
For eternity, not a mere moment.
We mere mortals cannot ourselves
Bear  the unbearable but there is One
Who not only can but has.

"He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him smitten of God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:3-4).

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said this: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (11:28-30).

The Trinity and Prayer

For a long time, when I learned of a need someone had, I would say apologetically, "All I can do is pray." Let that sink in for a second. "All I can do is pray?!"

One day I realized what that was implying, and it wasn't godly. In essence, I was calling the Trinity's current work something less than it is. What do I mean?

We know from John 17:20-26 that Christ prayed for us when He was here the first time: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, so that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, who you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

And in Hebrews 7:23-25 we learn: "The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he [Jesus Christ] holds his priesthood permanently, because he abides forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."

Since Christ sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding, and the indwelling Holy Spirit intercedes also (see Romans 8:26-27), who am I to say, or even to think, "All I can do is pray"? When I pray, I have the honor of entering in with the Trinity into a work They continue in even now.

Thank you, God, for the privilege of sharing with You in Your work. May all I ask always be in accord with Your will and honor You. Amen.