OUR FAITH

“We do not create our destiny; we participate in its unfolding.” — David Richo

Isaiah 64:8
Ephesians 2:8-10
2 Corinthians 12:9

“He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” (Mark 6:5-6)

Where there was no faith, Jesus could not operate.

How can that be? Isn’t he the Son of God? Are his works dependent upon our prayers, or better yet, dependent upon our faith? The question is not whether Jesus had sufficient power: as a member of the Trinity, he was completely God and completely human. The question is did he choose to operate when there was no faith. It seems not.

If the work of God is truly to believe in the One He has sent (John 6:29), then this puzzle all makes sense. We are the spectators (by faith), and God Himself is the player, the one who actually does something. Too often we think the reverse is true. We operate under a system that relegates God to the role of spectator while we make ourselves the player, the prayer, the doer, and if all goes our way, the hero.

Quatsch (as the Germans would say). Nonsense.

He does the work. We simply pray and believe in Him. Then when the act is ripe for the picking, God prompts us to chime in on some trivial task that will finalize the work He has set in motion from the beginning of time.

What a wonder that God would do all the legwork, then pass the final act on to us so we can ride on His coattails across the finish line and think ourselves good runners. How utterly humbling for Him. Why does He do it? Maybe because He wants to see who we’ll actually give the glory to. Will we bow and confess the truth, that God Almighty, Maker of the ends of the earth, did the deed — using us as a mere pawn? Or will we pat ourselves on the back, bask in the glory and take credit for a work of which we are utterly incapable?

God is the potter. We are but clay. And how wonderful it is to feel His powerful but loving hands shaping us into His vessel.

How has God asked you to collaborate on finishing some of His work?
How much effort does it require?
How have you noticed the hand of God guiding you through difficult times?

Brad