Word for Today, Wed, 05 May 2004: Doing God's Work
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Yesterday I wrote to you about dealing with discouragement. We
must deal effectively with discouragement so that our work for
God may be blessed, unimpeded, and uninhibited.
Today we lead into the topic of being guided and lead by God
Himself so that God's work may proceed through us.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
Read Proverbs 31 to find out what the Bible says about the
importance of mothers and their role in the home.
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NEIL ANDERSON'S DAILY IN CHRIST
from Freedom in Christ Ministries
May 5
DOING GOD'S WORK
The LORD will continually guide you (Isaiah 58:11).
An important concept of God's will is that God can only guide a
moving ship. He is the rudder, but if the ship isn't under way,
it can't be directed. Willingness to obey His will gets the ship
moving.
In Acts 15:36, Paul had decided to revisit the churches he
helped establish on his first missionary trip. The churches were
being strengthened and increasing in number (Acts 16:5). Luke
reports:
And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region,
having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word
in Asia; and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying
to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit
them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a
vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of
Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying,
"Come over to Macedonia and help us" (Acts 16:6-9).
Sometimes God's leading does not make sense. If God wanted Paul
to go to Macedonia in the first place, why didn't He make it
easier and faster by having Paul travel by land to Caesarea and
sail to Macedonia? Because God starts us out on a life course to
fulfill a certain purpose and then, only when we are ready, He
gives us course corrections. Like a good river pilot, He steers
us away from troubled waters, and like a good coach, He never
puts us in the game until we are ready.
I believe in divine guidance as described in Isaiah 58:11. But
the context reveals that there are prerequisites that have to be
satisfied. We are sometimes like a person who seeks to be an
athlete by simply suiting up for the race. That's not how the
skills are gained. It's in the course of dedication, training,
and the contest itself that one gains the skill of an athlete.
It's in the doing of God's work that His will becomes known.
Thank You, Father, that You oversee every turn in the road of my
life. I want to faithfully heed Your guidance today.
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--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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