Doing the works of God

What does doing the works of God mean to you?  If you are a Christian, it can mean any number of things.

I have walked with the Lord long enough to realize a few things about doing His works.  

I fully believe that the Lord's works are done first and foremost in our hearts.  Out of this connection, or as Oswald Chambers puts it, "comradeship," His works flow outward.  

What I mean is, it is much easier to put the proverbial cart before the horse, the cart being outer good works.  The true work, what Jesus is after, lies within our hearts.  When the Lord takes up residence in our hearts, via the Person of the Holy Spirit, He comes to rule and reign there.  When we allow Him to rule in our hearts, that is how His works are accomplished through us.

Now this is actually the harder work, because it is not tangible or quantifiable.  And Lord knows, we are a results-driven society!

But remember, the Lord is after our hearts.  Always.  This is Scriptural (see I Samuel 16:7).  The Holy Spirit confirmed this to me a while back.  I asked Him how He sees people.  He immediately zeroed in on the heart!  Of course He sees all.  But His focus is on our hearts because that is who we are.

When our hearts are fully connected to Him, when we allow Him full reign there by trusting and obeying Him, yielding and submitting to Him, that is when His good fruit is produced in our lives.  This may seem an obvious statement, but it is one that bears repeating.

I don't believe that Jesus is looking for more do-gooders.  Anyone, including atheists, are capable of doing good things.

Jesus wants us.  He knows that we are lost without Him.  He knows that if we do goods works in our own strength, we will eventually burn out.  He knows the genuine fruit from the "wax" fruit.

Only God, through His Holy Spirit, can produce the real fruit in us.  We are powerless to do this on our own.  It is a spiritual work.  It is the work of God in our hearts and lives.  And the way we get His work done is quite simple.  We abide in Him.

Easier said than done!  I said it was simple, not easy.

There are countless things tugging at our hearts, pulling us away from God instead of toward.  It takes discipline and constant vigilance to make sure we are doing works out of a heart full of Christ, or a heart full of self.

Vigilance sounds a bit harsh, I know.  But remember that we are in a spiritual battle.  Those troops on the battlefield in a real war weren't sitting around playing cards.  Even when there was a cease fire, they were still on guard, on alert, waiting and prepared for the next attack.

So what's a girl to do?  Pray.  A lot.

Admit that we are powerless to win said battles apart from the Holy Spirit in us.

The Christian life is full of paradox.  We yield (give in to Christ), we have His power.  We rest in Him, He is able to do His works through us.  We trust in Him more than self, we do the impossible.

Yield = power
Rest = works
Trust = miracles

This is but a brief list of the paradoxes of our walk with Christ.  So instead of running on the hamster wheel of life, getting nowhere (but looking busy!), we take a load off that we were never meant to carry.

God knows our hearts.  He knows that we want to do good works for Him, His Kingdom.  But He also knows that the only way we can get them done is by His Spirit and power in us.  

So what things threaten to cut off that connection, that supply from God, in us?  We need to cut them off, out of our hearts, thoughts, and lives, before they cut us off!  We can be busy going about all sorts of things without the power of God in us.  But those works will burn up one day.

How do we know if our works are gold or straw?  The works we do in the power of God are gold.  The works that we do in the flesh (our own strength and wherewithal) are straw.  

Is your natural talent or charisma getting in the way of God working through you?  Is you knowing "better" than God the issue?  Are your interests and concerns more of this world than God's eternal Kingdom?  

The devil is always after snuffing out that Holy Ghost fire in us.  It doesn't take much.  

But we always have hope in Christ.  We always have a choice.  We can choose to surrender to Him moment by moment, lay down our "rights," submit to Him, and then watch Him do the impossible through us.

I am not referring to walking on water or turning water into wine.  For some, it is impossible to forgive others.  But all things are possible with God.  That is a miracle!  

For others, it is impossible for them to stop worrying - about money, the future, their kids, fill-in-the-blank.  But all things are possible with God.  God can replace that worry with faith in Himself if we would simply let go and trust Him.  That is like turning water into wine - worry into faith!  Alleluia!

So let's move forward and do the works of God by the power of God.  We can stop the useless activities that bring Him no glory and which rob us of our eternal rewards.  Just imagine what He can do through a heart fully yielded to Him!  Ask Him to rearrange your priorities and interests.  He will do it!

Oh Lord.  We stand before You without excuse.  You have given us everything we need for life and godliness.  Help us to lay down our worries, "rights," and busyness before You.  Replace them, as you did the water with wine, with Yourself.  Fill our hearts with more of You, Lord, so that we can do the good works that You prepared in advance for us to do.  For Your glory and Your Kingdom!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.