Did you grow up in the 1980s, the Me! Me! Me! Generation? Did you watch the life of the rich and famous on television, and your heart yearned for the enormous mansion, fancy sports car, and sequined evening gowns? Are you listening to the world whispering You can have it all!
Labels like Calvin Klein were extremely important in our 80’s materialistic culture. But I bought my prom dress at a thrift store. A rusty Toyota Corolla dropped me off at high school, and Wal-Mart labels were my primary source of insecurity. Instead of having my identity grounded in being a daughter of the LORD, I was looking for the approval of my friends, family, and teachers.
God is at work in our minds, hearts, and souls.
But God had a plan for my life and opened my ears to hear the word of truth about Jesus. I received his gift of salvation and at that moment God began working in my mind, heart, and soul. He became my security, my confidence. God has a plan for your life too and I pray that He opens your ears to hear the truth and receive salvation.
God is at work enabling us to live a worthy life
Once you accept Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, then God is at work to enable us to live a life worthy of the Lord and to please him (Colossians 1:10 NIV). The only person I’m really good at pleasing is myself. It doesn’t come naturally to me to seek God’s approval instead of mine, family or friends. But when you feel yourself reaching for the cell phone to call a friend for advice, pause and pray instead.
Christ gives us His strength, courage, and perseverance to do the right thing, to choose the actions that are good for us, and for our families’ well-being. We need his wisdom to know what is truly important and what lasts. For example, that sequined evening gown’s zipper is busted, the sports car is scratched by the Wal-mart carts, and the mansion has way too many rooms to clean!
But what’s important is the relationship with the Lord that is cultivated through meditating on his word. The Holy Spirit uses the Lord’s word to teach us the difference between godly character and the world’s ways.
The Lord is at work growing fruit and giving knowledge.
And not only is God only teaching us, but the Lord is at work growing fruit from the work that He inspires us to plant. And a sure fire way of knowing that the Lord is at work is when the knowledge of God increases in us (Col 1:10 NIV).
The Lord is at work giving you great endurance and patience.
I don’t know the difficult workplace you will face tomorrow morning. Your boss may be demanding, the customers may be overly critical, and your children are prone to be disobedient. But no matter what you will face today, God strengthens you with all the power according to his glorious might and will give you great endurance and patience if only you ask (Col 1:11 NIV). And when you ask, you must believe and not doubt that He has the power to do what you ask (James 1:6 NIV).
God is at work qualifying us to share in the inheritance.
God is also at work qualifying us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light (Col 1:12 NIV). He rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought you into the kingdom of the son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins Col 1:13). So when the news looks mighty dark, look up to the light above. When guilt and shame of your past looms in your memory, remember Jesus has chosen to forgive you.
God is at work reconciling us to Christ.
God was at work when he reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through his death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish, and free from accusation (Col 1:22 NIV). How can we doubt that God is at work when he created a plan for you?
But the question is when we labor, are we struggling with all his energy that works powerfully in us (Col 1 :29 NIV)? Are we seeking him daily and allowing him to encourage our hearts and unite us in love?
God is at work forgiving us our sins.
God made us alive with Christ and He forgave us all our sins (2 Col 13 NIV). So when we find ourselves feeling insecure, fearful, and dependent on the approval of others, we will feel trapped. But when we choose Jesus, He gives us security, removes our fear and makes us worthy.
In the little Golden Book about God, the work of God in us is described:
“He gives us a small, still voice in our hearts to help us tell wrong from right. God gives us the hopes and wishes and dreams, plans for our years ahead. He gives us memories of yesterdays, so that happy times and people we love we can keep with us always in our hearts. For GOD IS LOVE.”
God is not just working in our two lives, but is working all over the world. Wherever the name of Christ Jesus is being preached, people are hearing. The message is growing, just as it has been since Jesus’ resurrection.
One example is the Children Evangelism Fellowship which teaches bible lessons for children in 195 countries around the world. CEF also train adults to teach Good News Clubs here in the United States as well. According to their website they have sent 800,000 Wonder Devotional Books to Africa and their plan is to reach 500,000 children in Asia with the books as well. God is moving in the hearts of tens of thousands of trained volunteers who help children grow in their relationship with the Lord.
May I Pray For You?
Heavenly Father, we praise you for being our salvation, security, confidence, and truth. We thank you for working in our mind, heart, and soul. We confess that our hearts are divided when we look to our family, friends, and ourselves for approval of our actions. We ask for Christs’ courage, strength, and perseverance to do your will. Help us to see you at work not just in our lives, but in everything. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
A Song you May Enjoy
In Toby Mac’s song, he sees God Everywhere! :
And every beat of my heart keeps reminding me
May I offer you a gift?
I’m a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m married to a firefighter, am a mother of two college age sons and one lovable rescue pup. My new day job is as an Instructional Designer but my background is teaching Elementary school. I love learning and sharing with my friends.
So, I’m looking for online friends to grow spiritually alongside me. As my online friend, I spend time praying for you everyday. My goal is to specifically design encouraging gifts to help you know deep in your soul just how dearly loved by Jesus you are.
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Abide in Christ's Love 
Good post April. Keep on using your talent to lift Jesus higher! ML
Sent from my iPad
Thank you Mary Lou, Have a blessed day!