From time to time, you read here in this space, my quest, goal, or challenge to define the work that accompanies the faith of a saved Christian. I believe that faith is a verb of a saved Christian. Faith is a verb, and action is the next logical step of a professed follower of Jesus Christ. My dilemma sometimes has been to determine just what it is that I’ve been called to do. What church should I join? What ministry should I participate in? What pastor should I follow? Invariably, when I have prayed on this for guidance, the Lord has a way of reminding me that these are my issues and not His. What church I attend, what pastor I listen to, and what so-called ministry I participate in do not matter to the Almighty. What does matter, He constantly reminds me, is service to my fellow man in His name. Instead of focusing on what to do and which way to go, I should ask God for the opportunity to serve, witness, and expand the knowledge of Him through me.
I am now convinced that whenever I struggle in the real world, trying to determine if I’m doing this thing right, I am falling prey to, allowing, if you will, the devil to do his thing. His thing is confusion. The more confused I am, the less I’ll do in God’s name, afraid to do the wrong thing. You see, Satan wins if nothing gets done. Each and every time I allow myself to take over, I lose. The prayer to God must first submit all things to His will and respond accordingly to what comes next. What comes next is the work. What comes next is what God would have you do. The answer is understanding that the job of being a Christian is to let go and let God. The hard part is letting go. The easy part, once you’ve done that, is then and only then to recognize that God will give you something to do. Not only will He give you something to do, He will also give you the means to accomplish it.
Every time I get lost in my walk, I, by now, have enough sense to stop and ask directions from the Creator. I generally get what I’ve asked for each time I do this. Like Christ turning over tables in the temple, the point is doing God’s work, not getting hung up on the definition, parameters, or the name of the work. You know, Jesus spent a lifetime trying to get people to relate to the spirit of the law, rather than the rule of the law. Bingo! That’s it. The spirit of God’s law demands that we remain open to the possibility that we can, will be, and must be used in His service. We must give Him all the honor and all the glory. Faith prepares you for this. Faith molds you for this. Faith gives purpose and intent. Through this faith, God provides circumstances and opportunity. The rest is up to us. Just remember there is a way out when you get confused, lost, or overwhelmed. Treat the next person you meet, and deal with the next circumstance you encounter as sent by God to allow you to put your faith in His hands. Christ has already guaranteed the outcome. Let go and let God. The rest is given.
May God bless and keep you always.