Full Of Grace And Truth - Part 2

Today's Word Of Encouragement From Wayne:

“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being"

John 1:3

Is it possible that, in our zeal to serve the Lord, we may forget the most important ingredient to our works, namely, that all things come into being “through Him.” Oh, how many times have we worked ourselves into exhaustion because we have assumed God would bless all things done in His name when what we should have done is to allow Him to be the Originator of all our plans? How often, out of a genuine heart to serve God, have we none-the-less been led by the need we see instead of  by the Lord we seek? Our hearts may be in the right place but we can quickly forget that, “apart from Him,” nothing comes into being.

It’s not God’s desire for us to become worn out, overwhelmed or perhaps even thinking of giving up. No, of course not. God, our Gracious Heavenly Father, desires for us to simply remember and live by the “in the beginning” truth that, even as our own new lives came into being through Jesus Christ, so also do our new works and service to God come into being through Jesus Christ. 

Let us not go ahead on our own with the mistaken impression that God is pushing us with expectations, demanding more and more service all the time. Let us instead allow our life-giving “In the beginning” God to be our life-continuing “in the present moment” God. Let us know and joyfully look to our Lord first, learning of Him (Matthew 11:27). 

Our joy and discipleship is to be with Him where He is, not to get ahead of Him where He isn’t. Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there my servant will be also” (John 12:26). What a blessing it is for us to know that our Lord puts the main emphasis of our service to Him upon first following Him and being with Him. As we are being with Him, as Jesus put it, to “abide in Me and I in you” (John 15:4), we are in the best possible place to seek God’s will, to wait upon Him for His will, and to go forth trusting and knowing that “all things” come into being through Him. For even in the act of waiting upon Him we are blessed to be nourished by Him - our very Bread of Life and Living Water. So instead of being burnt out, going ahead on our own; we are built up, going to His throne.    

If we will remember that all things come into being through Him then this will keep us from ever straying from having Jesus at the center of all we do. It is not for us to create and command God to bless. The best of our plans are as nothing before Him. Our part is to wait upon Him with simplicity of heart, free from all self-serving desires of fame and greatness and, in this spirit, He will call into being all that which He requires of us.

Hallelujah!