“LORD, You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works in us.” - Isaiah 26:12

As a follower in Jesus Christ, your life is a unique expression of God’s infinite love and peace to the world around you. It does not matter where you go, according to our verse God will “established peace” for you. This peace is a work that God does in us and for us. Not only that, our verse teaches us that the works that we do for the LORD are a result Him working in us. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Whatever good works we do, it finds it merit by the grace of God given to us and expressed by the Spirit of Grace in us. It is the Spirit of God who puts good thoughts and affections into our hearts. Any kindness that we do is God directly working in and through us with our best interest in mind and for His glory to be revealed.

We need to remember that natural human love is discriminating, while God’s love is unconditional. As we humble ourselves before God, God gives grace upon grace to fill our hearts whereby we act and react in such godly ways that we thought was never possible. We find ourselves ministering in a Christ-like way that we never even imagined, and loving people we thought was never possible. As a result, we can leave every person that we engage in with more of God than before simply because they have encountered God’s work of love in us.

Can you not see that in the ultimate grand scheme of things it is God doing the work? This is a done deal. Some Christians get nervous about God controlling our lives and working His will in us as our Sovereign. May I ask, “Who better to control our lives?” Look at the mess of our lives before God’s sovereign grace saved us? Do not think for one moment that we are puppets or robots. You know the bible never mentions puppets or robots, but it does mention we are “His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). That word “workmanship” comes from a Greek word that means “poem.” So we are God’s poem in which He is writing out a beautiful piece of artwork in His world. A work that we do not have to try and figure out, but it is a work that He has “ordained that we should walk in.” All we need to do is trust Him to guide our walk. As we yield ourselves to God’s work watch with awe as He does the work for us, in us, and through us. It is all God’s work.

David C. Hale, Pastor Email: reasons4believing@gmail.com