John 6: 29
Jesus answered and said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
We looked yesterday at entering into the rest of God. We found that the effort we are to expend is in entering into this rest. Today we see Jesus saying that the “works” that so many of us get bound up in are misplaced effort. Jesus said that the work that we are supposed to do is to believe in Jesus whom God has sent. So, are the verses from yesterday and today saying the same thing? Yes, I think so, are at least they are nuances of the same thing.
I so very vividly remember how badly I managed my work when I was practicing law. I worked myself half to death, literally. I tried to keep God in the frame all day but I was so out of balance that I couldn’t hear Him no matter how He tried to get my attention. Now, I am attempting not to do the same thing again. There is always enough work to do. If you have a work mentality you will find plenty to do but Dad is showing me that He is unwilling for me to go back into that crazy lifestyle. He has even told me that He will not give me more of the ministry tasks He has in mind for me if I cannot keep my life in balance. So this is an interesting season in my life. There is a lot on my plate but Dad will not have me sacrifice my workouts or even my playtime in order to work. There must be balance. So, He is teaching me to labor to enter into His rest, to use my effort to believe in Christ within me who has the power to accomplish all that needs doing. My relationship with the father is much more important to Him than the “work” I do for Him.
Many ministers have lost their way working for the Lord. All of us, regardless of our occupation, must put and keep Jesus first in our lives. Then He will empower us from the inside to do all that we must do. The Holy Spirit is the power of God. We need to learn how to release that power into the world and into our workspace so that we can keep our priorities in line and not burn ourselves out. You can live till 120 years or more but not if you are burning your candle down too low now. I do not advocate laziness, not by any means. I am just learning that God is our strength and He can be the performance engine in us. This is a high challenge but for those who are ready there is a deep well here, a big revelation.
I would love to hear your stories of how you are allowing God to work through you and I am sure that besides myself, others can benefit from your experience. Click on the link below and go to our blog site and tell us how you are allowing this to work in your life.
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