Working With God

God is at work.

He works:

• Everywhere—even in the far reaches of infinite space,
• All the time—eternity in both directions. God is always on time, but He’s not bound by time. He sees a thousand years as one day₁ and understands all of history and all of the future as if they were present.
• In many ways—No one can limit God’s materials, or how He chooses to work in the hearts of mankind. No one can even imagine all He does to hold the world together, to make everything work in perfect synchronization. God can do anything that’s in His will to do. How awesome is that?
• Using people—I’ll never understand why an infinite, holy God would want to use lousy sinners to do His work, but what a blessing He lets us take part in what He’s doing! We find a clue here: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:27-31).

Years ago, I did a Bible study₂ about finding out what God was doing and getting in on it. It’s an interesting concept.

Now, I’m reading The Glasses We Wear by Michael G. Garland. He says, “If God is really outside of time, it means that the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus are very present events to Him, as are creation and the last battle.”₃

It’s so necessary that we understand who God is and something about what He’s like.

God the Father hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (Colossians 1:13-17).

“We put faith in doctors, contractors, and professionals of every sort, not because we understand all they are doing, but because of their title, position, and identity in their respective field. It is the same way with God. Once we come to realize that God is God we trust Him, not because we understand everything He does, but because we know who He is. Do we understand all the ways of God? No, but since He spoke the universe into existence perhaps we should give Him the benefit of the doubt.”₄

Part of the reason why we have a hard time figuring out what God is doing is that we don’t leave things to the Professional. We don’t trust God to do things in His way. We may not be able to see things clearly simply because we don’t have the mind of the Expert.

We can, though, learn about God. He invites us: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). The Bible says the Holy Spirit is our teacher.

Let’s learn about God and His work, trust Him to do all things well, and as we get closer to the Lord, we can get in on His work! He’s chosen to use the weak things. Praise Him!

__________________

1. 2 Peter 3:8

2. Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby

3. The Glasses We Wear: Reflections on Christian Worldview by Michael G. Garland

4. Ibid.