God Works in Us to Do His Will

You know what we need? Encouragement. Where encouragement is needed — direction. Where direction is needed — chastisement. Where chastisement is needed — conviction. What is needed, Lord, You speak to us. Prepare our heart to receive this message. So have Your way, Lord. Have Your way. In the end, You get the praise, You get the honor, You get the glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray with thanksgiving.

The scripture tells us that God created us with a plan. He planned that we do good works.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Before we were born, before we were born again, God prepared good works for us to accomplish and enabled us to do those good works.

God has endowed us with spiritual gifts.

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” — 1 Corinthians 12:4–7

“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” — 1 Corinthians 12:11

“Having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.” — Romans 12:6

At salvation, the Holy Spirit enters us and gives us specific gifts to be used for the kingdom of God — to do the work required of us. God also gives leaders to the church to equip believers to do the works He desires of us.

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers — for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” — Ephesians 4:11–12

So having been equipped, God would then give us the desire and opportunity to use our gifts and talents to do the works He created us to do.

But God does not force us to do His will. He wants us to do so of our own free will. And sometimes God places the desire to do His will as a burden in our hearts — but we still have the power to say yes or no to God.

When we say yes, God then provides all the resources needed to get the work done — the work that He prepares for us to do.

We see that with Nehemiah. Even though he had never seen Jerusalem, he had a burden for the conditions of his brethren who returned there to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah was born captive in Babylon, because it was more than 100 years after the first set of exiles had returned to Jerusalem that he came on the scene. Yet he had a burden for Jerusalem after hearing of the deplorable conditions of the city and of the Jews who had returned there.

“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” — Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah could not do anything but pray for that burden in his heart, because he was working for the King of Persia. But the burden was there.

“Then the king said to me, ‘What do you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.’” — Nehemiah 2:4–5

He was a cupbearer of the king. He was not a construction manager, yet he was able to organize the work that needed to be done in Jerusalem. And in spite of many challenges, he completed rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem in record time.

“So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.” — Nehemiah 6:15–16

God gives us a task — He provides all resources needed to get the job done. All we have to do is take the steps He shows us. God is in full control of all the resources needed to get His work done. All He needs is for us to say yes — to His will and His way.

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” — Philippians 2:13

A made-up mind allows us to say yes to the will of God. We have to always remember who God is and whose we are — and that when we say yes to His will and His way, He is able to make us complete in every good work to do His will — working in us what is well-pleasing in His sight — through Jesus Christ. So that in the end, He will get the glory and the honor and the praise.

Father God, thank You, Lord, for Your encouraging word this morning — that You are the one who works in us. You are the one who performs the work that You have created for us to do. All we have to do is be willing vessels — submit to Your will and to Your way.

Then You will create the opportunities. You will open the doors. You will give us favor, where favor is needed. You are the one who will work everything, because the work is Yours — and You know how to get it done, because all the resources needed are under Your control.

So I pray that as we go about Your business, we will not see ourselves as less than or unable. We would not be intimidated by circumstances or situations, Lord — but we will trust You. We will trust that You who have equipped us, You who have called us — is well able to do what You have called us to do.

So we thank You for this word this morning, and I pray this in Jesus’ name with thanksgiving. Amen.