God Does The Work - September
18, 2001
I love to read the Bible, and more often than not you
can find me wandering through the rich Old Testament
countryside. I've never really enjoyed studying history,
it's the people that capture my attention. I can see my
strengths and weaknesses mirrored in so many Old
Testament characters. I rely on their example for what to
and (more often) what not to do in the situations life
presents me. These were real people with real problems
who had their share of both victories and failures. I'm
glad that God saw fit to include stories from the shadier
side of His servants. That helps me to realize that I can
successfully walk this Christian path. I also see that my
shortcomings don't disqualify me from serving Him.
Any list of Bible heroes would have to include names
like Noah, Moses, Joshua, Daniel, Elijah, and David.
These men and many more deserve our respect, but we must
be careful not to elevate them to a level of adoration.
They should be examples to us not because of what they
did, but because of what they let God do through them.
You don't have to look far to dig up dirt on almost any
Biblical hero, and they did nothing to qualify for the
miracles God performed in their lives. It wasn't their
ability, it was their availability that impressed God. In
every situation, when God said go ... they went. Many
times there was a healthy fear of their own inadequacy,
but when it was time to act, these heroes of the faith
responded with just that ... faith.
We have seen first hand that God can and does perform
miracles today. If you turn your life over to God's
leadership He will take you places you never dreamed of
going, and maybe some places you never wanted to go. The
question is, are you going to let Him take you there? If
you examine the miracles associated with individuals in
the Bible, you'll find that they didn't occur during the
easy times. God often waits until our backs are against
the wall and there is nothing left for us to do before He
steps in. When you reach that point, you can choose to
continue fighting with your own strength and go down in
failure, or you can learn a lesson from our Old Testament
role models and surrender to God's will. Everything
really boils down to one question, are you going to
surrender your life completely to God? If you do, there
is a good chance you will see some amazing miracles in
your own life. When the miracles happen, you'll know
without a doubt ... it's God who does the work.
