Working In Us

When big business has decided they want to get rid of a hard worker that has done a good job for them in past years they use a trick to do it. First they give the worker a promotion into a job that they cannot handle and then they fire them for not doing a good job. Many Christians accept the Lord but they are not able to do the work correctly. In order to solve this problem the Lord Jesus made a way. He sends the Spirit to live in us and show us how to do the work that God wants done. It is as if the Lord gave us the promotion and then sets down beside us every day and shows us how to accomplish our job. Of course, it is not difficult to do the things that a Christian life requires when the Spirit is working in us. Paul talks about this very thing in the following passage; Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Phil 2:12-13 (NLT) God working in us can solve any problem if we will follow the leading of the Spirit. God really does have our back.

One of our spiritual problems today is that modern people don’t seem to accept the idea that the message of God really does change our everyday lives. They hear the amazing words of God and they nod their head but when leave the church house the words never change their life. Paul told one of his churches that they were different;  Therefore, we ( I ) never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us(Me), you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we ( I )said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. 1 Thess 2:13 (NLT) In the last paragraph we read “Work hard to show the results”. Is this part of the problem? Maybe people are not serious about doing the work of God. Knowing that God is working in us certainly does not relieve us of our Godly responsibilities. We must allow the Gospel of God to work its power “IN US” as we put our minds, hands and feet to work in our everyday life.

Believing in the great power that has come to live in us is the way we develop the new changes God has for our life. Most Christians are trying to operate on 12 volts when thousands of volts are available to every believer. Paul said it this way; I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Eph 1:19-20 (NLT) Many times people will say, “I know God can do anything but it’s just not logical to expect what I am asking”. If God only did logical things then the world could copy everything God would do. The fact is that the world can’t do anything that God does. The world can’t even make a radish seed. America does not see many great miracles. This is not because God can’t do them but because we have such a weak walk with the Lord. Christianity is not about believing in your head what God can do; it is about living a life with enough power to show unbelievers that our God is full of power.

Christians should have one goal in this life. It should be the drive to spread the Word of God to every person in our personal world of influence. This includes helping believers to grow in their spirituality. When people are not moving forward spiritually they are losing ground. It always works that way. There is plenty of power in us; So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. Col 1:28-29 Let’s say it again, we work so that the power of God will have the opportunity to show itself through our life. Remember that we work for Love and not because we are told to. Consider this verse; Does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. Gal 3:5 (NLT) Jesus did not allow God to work through Him because he had to; love motivated the life He gave for us. We should be the same.

Many times we cannot understand why God is working in some unusual way. Just because God worked in our life in a certain way does not automatically set a pattern for others. The Bible says; There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 1 Cor 12:4-6 (NLT) If God is not working through our life then we are not right with Him. God is at work through every real Christian.  The Scripture is very clear; Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. 1 John 3:9-10 It is obvious when the Spirit is working in a person.

Every Christian life has a purpose. Many times we do not feel as if God is using us but that is not possible. If we have the Spirit of God living in us then He is at work doing something. Just because we are not aware of the Spirit's plan in our life does not mean He is doing nothing. In fact, it is possible that at times we may be offending God and entering into unbelief. There is a plan that the Spirit brings into a life that is being lived for Him. The Scripture even says that God’s plan has a great ending for every Christian life.  Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. Eph 1:11 (NLT) The inheritance that God has for us is beyond anything we can imagine. It may be hard to believe but we will be rewarded for simply allowing God to work in us.