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It is grace that takes you from where you are, to where God wants you to be in life, to a position that is higher and more blessed, even as He raised up David, to be a king and more importantly, to be a man after His own heart. David acknowledges it all saying “Both riches and honor come from You and you rule over all. In Your hand is power and might, in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all“. [1 Chronicles 29:12]
And it is by knowing the grace of Lord Jesus Christ, as the apostle Paul declares, that it can come to pass in your life. For you know the grace of Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty, may become rich. [2 Corinthians 8:9]
Grace teaches you, the procedure, the process by which you can appropriate it all, making it part and parcel of your life. And it is by knowing the truth of God’s word that you are set free; ignorance on the other hand only makes it easy for the evil one to keep you in bondage.
Seeing life and good days :
He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. [1 Peter 3:10] God has good days in store for you; challenges may come, but still you can be of good cheer. The path to it begins as you speak what is good, what is in line with the word of God, not contrary to it. It cannot stop with it though, for it should be followed up by doing what is good.
And, doing what is good is doing the will of God – doing it by faith, as the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews describes very powerfully. For, when you have a relationship with God, it is not about what you can do, but what God can do through you. Doing what is good, is an exercise of your faith in love, for the glory of God.
Naturally and humanly speaking though, it may sometimes be frustrating as you experience a delay in seeing good days come to pass. And it is why the words of the psalmist, find such a deep chord of empathy within you for it may seem sometimes, that he is very accurately describing exactly what you are going through, at that point in your own life! And, it also gives you the solution, the process by which you can overcome your negative emotions. And, in this situation, where you need to do what is good, the psalmist very wisely counsels you to trust in God, His faithfulness and do it.
1) Trust God & Do good :
Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. [Psalms 37:1-3]
There is a connection between your belief and behavior; which is why your value system is so very important. The world tries to bring about a behavioral change in a person, without altering his inner nature by changing the values that determine and shape his behavior. But, this is not something that can be sustained over a long period of time. It will only regress at some point or the other, to more dire behavior. But God works on the inside of a person, and it results in what is seen outside as behavior or conduct. Salvation is what He works on the inside of you, so that you may work out your salvation on the outside, by your actions.
Therefore, when you believe in God, put your trust in God, to lean and rest completely in Him, you have to behave accordingly. There is simply no other option !
If you say that you believe in a good God, then you need to overcome evil with good, and not resort to an ‘eye for an eye’ behavior that has ended with the old covenant. The worldly philosophy that says, ‘for every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction’ can find no place in you either all because you believe in a good God !
It will not be easy; it will not come naturally to you, especially when someone has done something very bad to you. But difficult things become easy when you trust and depend on the loving grace of God, and you rest completely in His faithfulness towards you. Be teachable in His hands as He holds your hand to lead you in the right path, even as you, as a loving parent held the hand of your little one, guiding her to write properly by asking her to leave her hand loose and pliable in your hand.
Trust God, giving Him full control. And, God will do what is good, to those who did evil to you, through you! And, the proof that you have put all your trust in God will be the deep sense of inner rest that you experience within you. It comes, as you cast your cares and roll your burdens upon God.
He cares for you :
Cast all your care upon God, for He cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7] It is the word of God that can never pass away; and calls you to roll your burdens onto Him. It is a deep sense of relief that you will feel when someone comes to take a heavy burden that you are carrying, from your hands. It is no longer your problem, but God’s. If you can still feel the burden, hear the words of the Lord saying, ‘Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and you will find rest’. There is an exchange that needs to take place. You receive rest from Him, as you give Him your burdens.
Therefore, if there is still some restlessness in you, there are still some burdens that you need to hand over into the hand of the One who cares for you. ‘Labor to enter into the rest of God’, declares the word of God. It may sound like an oxymoron, but it is describing the effort that you need to make in order to roll your burdens onto God.
It is by persisting in your prayer concerning any burden that is still pulling you down, until you experience a deep sense of peace, a peace that is beyond understanding, concerning it. The Savior models it, shows you the way, even as He commits His unimaginable burden in prayer to His Father, to rise up to proceed flint faced towards the Cross knowing it all the burden of Calvary that awaited Him, what He would accomplish on the Cross, that you and I can now sing, ‘Burdens are lifted at Calvary’.!
The disciples who were sleeping, instead of keeping watch in prayer fled the scene, but Jesus stepped forward with strength and courage into His majestic destiny. Calvary, for Christ, was not defeat. For, by staying on the Cross He defeated the devil. He has done it all on the Cross, that you and I may today reign in life, all through the one Man Jesus Christ.
So, if you are restless, all you need to do is to cast your care on Him. And, why do you need to do it ? For, He cares for you!
Casting your care on God through the spoken word :
It happens even in the Christian marriage, when the vow that is spoken in the presence of God, between the man and the woman a small ‘I do’, establishes every ‘do’ and ‘do not’ involved in it, and seals the covenant relationship until ‘death do us part’. And, if the word spoken by two people carries so much weight, how much more the word of the Living and Eternal Word, through whom all things were made and are sustained? The God who says to you, ‘Cast all your care on Me, for, I care for you’, will certainly do it, for the rest of your life, if only you trust Him wholeheartedly, without doubt or double mindedness. Trust God, therefore, to find your rest in God, knowing that He cares for you, and has taken care of all things for you.
Christ has taken care of it all on the Cross :
Therefore, you do what you need to do, knowing that He has done what needs to be done. There are very many light bulbs in your home, and all you need to do is to switch them on, and your home is flooded with light. There is no hard work or labor involved on your part, because the difficult part of it has already been done, and by other people! Discovering the light bulb, and electricity, all took much effort and perseverance, on the part of the people concerned. And then power stations being set up to generate electricity, and electrical wires and transformers by which they came right into your home, the laborious work that is involved in it all, is not something that you needed to trouble yourself with.
All that you need to do is tap a switch! And, of course it can in no way compared to the magnificent greatness of the work of Christ on the Cross – but it serves to give a picture of the truth involved, that needs to be assimilated and experienced in you. It is then that you can trust, and rest in God, to find that doing what is good and right is something that can be done. And, all because Christ has already done the difficult part; you are doing only the easy bit!
Therefore, in your work, or in your family, or in your ministry, you need not be stressed or frustrated. You can go to your place of work or study knowing that the Breaker has gone ahead that He has removed hindrances, made the crooked straight, and rough places into level ground. It is the revelatory truth that sets you free to live and work in freedom and liberty, knowing that Christ has already done what needs to be done on the Cross.
Work became labor, hard work and toil, frustrating with no good return, as a result of the curse that came in because of the entrance of sin. But, Christ became sin and curse on the Cross, so that you may be made righteous and blessed in Him. And, it is with the understanding of all that He has already done for you, that you need to do what is required of you, which is to trust in God, to rest in Him and do what is good.
Confession – it is your response :
When you are playing a game of chess with another person, and you have made your move, then you can make your next move only after the opposing player has made his. Applying it in the present context Christ has made His move; He has taken away all your sin and shame on Calvary. And, you now need to make your move – it is your confession with your mouth saying, ‘I am healed by His stripes’; or in your financial lack, confessing, ‘Through His poverty I have been made rich’, in your darkness, confessing. ‘I have been redeemed from the curse of the law that I may receive the promise of Abraham’. And then the Lord will make His move, as He validates your confession by manifesting it in your life, be it healing, prosperity, or whatever your confession of faith was about.
Even in your work, and in all your endeavors, it is the same truth that works itself out, as you operate, not from a point of frustration or fear, but from a point of rest. You do what you need to do, because what needs to be done has already been done on the Cross.
Rest – for it is God who gives the increase :
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. [1 Corinthians 3:6] They are the words of Paul to the Corinthian church, and they illustrate very clearly, how you and I can work from a position of rest, that God has done what He needs to be done. For, the ultimate purpose of sowing and watering is the increase that needs to come. It is the difficult part, and it is taken care of by God. So the pressure, the burden on you is lifted; and knowing that increase comes from Him, you are energized and motivated to do the sowing and watering. For, you know that He has taken care of it all; that He will manifest the fruit of your labor, by giving the increase.
‘Your labor in the Lord is never in vain’, declares the word of God. Preaching and sharing God’s word can be done without feeling burdened by the greatness and the importance of the responsibility. It can be done with adequate preparation, a studying and understanding of the truth, from a position of rest, knowing that it is God who is speaking, and working in the hearts and minds of those who are hearing it. And, one word from Him, can speak in a million ways, according to the need of each person, to work inside him, answering his need in a way that only God can do.
Every work, has its’ complexities and challenges; but, you can approach it from a point of rest. You can do what you are needed to do, knowing that God has already done what is needed of Him, to manifest a fruitful completion of your task. You can sow and water, because God will certainly give the increase.
‘At your word, I will let down the net’ :
Peter, as a fisherman, became aware of this glorious truth, on the shore of the sea of Galilee, when his boat became the pulpit for the Lord. [Luke 5:1-11] He had toiled all night with no reward. It was then that Peter listened to the teaching of the Lord, who then said to him, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch’. [Vs 4]
Peter, then spoke, what is the unbroken, and unchanging manifesto in the kingdom of God, where everything is based upon God’s word and your response to it. But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net’. [Vs 5]
Peter responded positively and the rest is history! And, what is history? It is His story, in which He has a wonderful story worked out for you if only you choose to respond positively to His word that comes to you. You will indeed experience true rest and restoration, in the place of frustration and fruitless toil. It was the life transforming experience of Peter.
For, fishing to Peter was what was routine, was maybe a family vocation, which had been handed down over many generations. And, most certainly, it was done only in the night time. But, on a very normal day, a normal occupation, and a place of lack of reward, a supernaturally abnormal word came to him from the Lord. It was abnormal to Peter, a trained fisherman, for normally fishing is never done during the day. He chose on that day though, to respond positively to the Lord who gives the increase.For, letting down the net, was the easy task; and it was only that, that Peter needed to do. Fishes coming into the net was the difficult part; and that was what the Lord took care of!
You and I indeed worship a wonderful God, who calls things that are not, into existence. Even in your life, in your occupation, you can enjoy what you have to do, because you know that God has taken care of the rest. You have no other option, but to do that which is good, because He has done everything required for you to do it.
Since He brings the growth, you plant and water. It is by grace and through faith, that you have been saved. And, it is the same with every other person. Therefore, even as you share the gospel with the lost and the broken people that God brings in your path, He bestows upon them the joy of salvation.
All you need to do is, share the good news! He will take care of the rest.
2) Dwell, and feed on His faithfulness :
It may take time sometimes, for the seed to sprout, for the word spoken to you to bear results. But, consistency is the key to success, and you need to stick with it. The bible talks about famines that came in the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yes, famines come in every one’s lives at times. Abraham departed to Egypt during the time of famine, but Isaac was counseled by God to remain in Israel, even in the time of famine. He stayed therefore in obedience to God’s word, but for a long time encountered only problems. He chose to dwell in the land though, for the Lord had said so.
Even in a marital relationship, or in the work place, it may not always be smooth sailing. But, when you choose to stay in it, in obedience to God’s word, surely the turnaround will come. You will reap the fruit of your righteousness one day, which will last for the rest of your life! It takes time to build trust and confidence in any field of work. The key is, to stick with it. Just stay on the job, for God has already prepared something marvelous and wonderful to satisfy you in abundance.
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright. He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. [Psalm 92:13-15]
Even if it takes a long time, old age in fact, for it to come to pass, just stick with it. You will never regret your persistence, for God has wonderfully good days ahead for you. Meanwhile, feed on His faithfulness, to keep frustration at bay. And learn to live by the word for man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes to you from the mouth of the Lord. [Deut 8:3]
His word comes to you in the form of a seed, and you need not wait for it to become a tree and bear fruit, for it surely will. The word from God will never return void, but will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. Therefore, if you have got the word, you have already got it all, for God is not a man, that He should say a lie, and does He say, and not fulfill it? Stand on His word therefore, and feed on His faithfulness. Begin to rejoice, the moment you receive the word from Him. Learn to live by the word, as you trust God, for He who has promised is faithful.
Declare your trust and dependency in God, to rest in Him and do what is good. It is to do what God requires of you, for He will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten. You have good days ahead that He has already planned for you. May God strengthen you to stand firm in your circumstance, and not run away from situations that may trouble you, for the Lord will come through for you, and you will surely see the salvation of the Lord. ‘I need thee, O I need thee, bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee’ may this be the cry of your heart this day, as you lean on Him in a trust that is complete. He is a faithful God, who will never disappoint you, or put you to shame. You will certainly see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
