“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
I thought to write this week about something I’ve been learning as I’ve seen God at work in my life, and in the lives of others. I’m learning that in a way, God is very practical. God speaks to us and works in our lives based on where we currently are.
I think Auntie Pat’s message last Sunday on the life of Joseph had some great examples of this. Joseph experienced major challenges in his life, including being betrayed by his family, thrown into a pit, being wrongly accused, and jailed. And he had done nothing wrong! Yet the way that God worked in Joseph’s life was not to free him from trouble. It wasn’t as if God removed Joseph from situations that were challenging. Instead, God met Joseph in his challenges, and helped him to deal with them in the most Godly way possible. And in the end, Joseph saved his family and a whole nation, just as God planned.
I think that God is practical in the sense that he helps us deal with the things we face in our daily lives, rather than removing us from difficult situations. I remember a worship song that included the line, “Lord take control of my life.” I respect the sentiment in the lyrics. We want God to have total control in our lives. But something I’m realizing is that God doesn’t actually want to take control of our lives. Instead, God wants to shape us and train us up so that we can partner with him using all our skills, talents, and treasures. All of those things were put there for a reason. Like Ephesians 2:10 says, “we are God’s handiwork“. God put good things in us and created us in Christ Jesus, so that we could do good works.
But even in this, God is practical. God works with us based on where we are. That means that God knows our weaknesses, and has a plan for how we can address them. Our human weaknesses are tough to deal with in our lives. But some of the most amazing moments–the things we can be proudest of in our lives–is when we work with God to address those weaknesses, and God makes them into strengths. God somehow uses the quietest person to have a powerfully influential voice. God uses someone struggling with sin to overcome, then teach others how to overcome. God uses healing from trouble in a marriage so that we can help others in their relationships.
We don’t lose ourselves when we follow Jesus. Instead, we become the best possible people that we can be. Tim Hughes is an amazing worship leader, the guy who wrote “Here I Am to Worship.” I remember him telling a story once of how people would always approach him and want to be like him and do what he’s doing. But he’d tell them, “Don’t try to be me. Be the best you that you can be.” God doesn’t transform us to make us into a completely different person. God teaches us how to deal with our weaknesses, and grow in our strengths, so that we can be the best possible “me” we can be.
God takes us from where we are, to where he wants us to be. He takes us from who we are today, to who he wants us to be tomorrow. So let’s commit daily to taking those small steps with Jesus in the right direction.