God Accomplishes His Work

"But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God. (John 3:21)

My plan will take place, and I will do all my will....Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:10-11)

Affirmation

When we experience God's invitation to join Him, some people insist on seeing some kind of sign. In essence they are saying, "Lord, prove to me this is You, and then I will obey." When Moses stood before the burning bush and received his invitation to join God in His great work, God promised to affirm the invitation in due time. He said, "This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain" (Exod. 3:12). In other words, "Moses, you obey, and I will deliver Israel through you. You will come to know Me as your deliverer, and you will stand on this mountain and worship Me."

God's affirmation that He had sent Moses would come after Moses obeyed, not before. This is most frequently the case in Scripture. The affirmation comes after the obedience. When Jesus invited Peter to get out of the boat to walk on the water, He did not assure Peter he would stay afloat! The Lord simple said, "Come!" (Matt. 14:28). Peter wouldn't know if he could walk on the water until he took his first step.

Because you love God, obey Him. Then you will so fellowship with Him that you will come to know Him intimately. His work through you to accomplish God-sized assignments will be a joyous time for you!

What If The "Door" Closes?

Suppose you sense the call of God to a task, a place, or a particular ministry, and when you set about to do it, everything goes wrong. Often people say, "Well, I guess that wasn't God's will."

Since God calls you into a relationship with Him, be careful how you interpret your circumstances. Many times, we jump to a conclusion that God is moving us in a particular direction. We make up our minds about what He is doing and when He is going to do it, according to what seems logical to us. We start following the logic of our own reasoning, but then nothing seems to work out. We have a tendency to neglect our relationship with God and take things into our own hands, but don't do that.

Usually, when God calls or gives you a direction, His call is not the thing He wants you to do. He is telling you what He is about to do where you are. For example, examine this record of the apostle Paul's ministry:

"They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia and were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, bypassing Mysia, they came down to Troas. During the night a vision appeared to Paul: a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, 'Cross over to Macedonia and help us!' After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to evangelize them." (Acts 16:6-10)

God had already told Paul He would reach the Gentiles through him, but God - not Paul - would do the saving. Paul started in one direction, and the Spirit stopped him (see Acts 16:6-10). Then he began in another. Again, the Spirit prevented him. What was God's original plan? To reach the Gentiles. What was Paul's problem? He was trying to figure out what to do, and the "doors" of opportunity seemed to close. In fact, God was saying, "Listen to me, Paul. Go and sit in Troas until I tell you where to go."

While he was in Asia Minor, in the city of Troas, Paul received a vision to go to Macedonia and help the people there. God's plan was to carry the gospel westward toward Greece and Rome. He was at work in Macedonia and wanted Paul to join Him in that place.

When you begin to follow what you sense God wants you to do and circumstances seem to close the door of opportunity, go back to the Lord and clarify what God said. Better yet, always try to make sure on the front end exactly what God is saying. Remember, He is not calling you primarily to a task but to a relationship. Through that relationship, He will accomplish His purposes through your life.

Moses had to re-check Gods' directions constantly. He obeyed God, spoke to Pharaoh, and everything went wrong, but Moses didn't quit. He went back to the Lord to clarify what was happening.

God began to given him directions about the plagues He would bring on Egypt. Pharaoh seemed to be getting more and more obstinate. Moses daily sought God's directions and obeyed them. Later, Moses could look back and see God's handiwork in all that took place. God delivered Israel from the Egyptians in such a way that Israel, Egypt, and the surrounding nations knew God had done it. Pharaoh's stubbornness was not a sign that Moses misunderstood God's directives. Rather, it was the way God performed an even greater work than Moses could have imagined."

Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, Claude King