Called to do the impossible

I was considering this recently…

We are called by God’s word to “do everything to the Glory of God”.  That is a high calling.  Indeed the highest calling there is, but how do we do it?  If we look at ourselves with honest eyes we know that no matter what we do, even if we do it exceptionally well, it will never be good enough to give Glory to God.  We make a mistake in the planning, in the delivery, or in the follow up.  We lose focus and get off track.  There is the issue of motive.  Nothing we do has a completely sinless motive we are sinful people and I honestly believe we never know our own hearts well enough to know that there is not a sinful motive in us.  The reality is that the Apostle Paul said “God is not served by human hands”.  What a paradoxical statement coming from a man who spent his WHOLE LIFE serving God!  Yet it is NOT a paradox.  We CANNOT give anything to God.  My life verse is Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.  Did you catch the question in verse 35? “Who has ever given a gift to Him?” the obvious answer is NO ONE!  He made everything including us and He made every capacity we have of making other things as well as the stuff that we make other things out of.  No matter what you do you cannot add to God.  He will never be a debtor to anyone.  So how did Paul serve God?  How do we serve God?  The answer is easier than you might think.  Faith.
The author of the book of Hebrews said that, “without faith it is impossible to please God”, and faith is what?  (If you were in the Assemblies of God Junior Bible Quiz you would say that faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” That is absolutely WRONG by the way.  That is a description of faith NOT a definition.  That would be like someone asking you what a fire-truck is and you saying “it is red and long with sirens”) The definition of Faith is “a workless receiving” isn’t that good!  So how do we please God?  The ONLY WAY to please God is to receive!  Everything we do, everything that goes out from us we received from him first, and we received the ability to do it from Him.  Therefore HE gets all the glory he is the beginning middle and end of everything we have done and everything we do. 
When we really understand that it does a few of things:
1.It keeps us humble – when we look at things we have accomplished and we understand that everything we see was done by receiving Grace from God or it was done in sin it is REALLY difficult to get proud. (Although I think I could manage it!)
2. It takes the stress off – when we understand the we are only vessels through which the resource, influence and creativity of the Lord flow the need for us to be worried about where it is going to come from, or the size of the job is eliminated.  The only thing we have to be sure of is that we stay in a place of Faith and obedience.  God will do the rest.
3. It helps us rejoice in what God has done whether we were involved or not! – A lot of times we struggle with envy about the work of God happening through someone else.  When we know it was God and not them envy is no longer an issue.

 

Josh Hawkins

BDS