WHERE IS GOD AT WORK?
Isn’t it interesting to note as you watch the news reports these days on the Catholic conclave of cardinals that reporters don’t really know how to refer to the Holy Spirit working? Now aside from the false religious system that is the Roman Catholic Church, let’s just tackle us Protestants knowing where and how the Spirit of God is at work.
(1) God is at work in every square inch of the world He created. The world created by God, is under the authority of God, and nothing escapes the sovereign rule of God. There is no ruthless tornado nor rogue dictator that isn’t under the providential reign of the King of Creation. Even when it appears God is absent or allowing wickedness, He is at work! Isaiah 66:1 – “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.”
(2) God is at work wherever His people use their gifts for His purposes. The Spirit of God was given as a deposit in the hearts of every true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. That means that where God’s people walk in obedience, He is working through them to accomplish His divine purposes in the world. 1 Corinthians 12 :4-11 – “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit … To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good … All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”
(3) God is at work in places and ways we can’t always discern or see. We know God is always at work, and that He is at work where His people are using their gifts obediently, but there is no formula to unlocking the Almighty’s power. He works where He wants to work, at His divine discretion and according to His wise purposes. Don’t be deceived into thinking He merely works in the visible, the obvious, the revival. He works in the unseen places, where no reporter sees, and where most see only brokenness. He is the still small voice, not merely the boisterous storm. He works in ways that defy human strategies and humble the gifted among us. His ways are not our ways, and we dare not assume we know or control His paths. So don’t grow weary my friend in your well-doing … there is a good chance He is at work when you feel Him most absent, and you feel most hopeless. Deuteronomy 29:29a – “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever.”