God is Working in You

Life today is like a warehouse, assembled from pre-fab sections, ready to receive goods. It is fast, compressed, condensed—slam-bang, it’s done.

It is not so in God’s wilderness schooling. When it comes to walking with God, there is no such thing as instant maturity. God does not mass produce saints; He hand-tools each one, and it always takes longer than we expected.

God takes this careful measure because for anyone to lead effectively such a person must accept being questioned, attacked, accused, hated and betrayed. It is painful, but it enables the person to stand alone. How is it possible to endure such, one may ask. God accomplishes it through the furnace of affliction (Isa. 48:10; John 12:24-25; Heb. 1:9-10; Heb. 5:8). If you learn your lessons well, you will no longer need anyone to pat you on the back. You will go straight on doing what God had called you to do even in the face of both opposition and intimidation.

No matter what role one is called upon to fill, such a role is not unimportant when it come to standing alone for truth. This is because standing for the truth is standing before God. It makes one a unique spokesperson in one’s day and age at this moment and time.

As God works in us, every shred of self-sufficient arrogance, every hint of independent spirit, and all thought of rebellion is scraped away. Any indifference toward authority is replaced by a firm commitment to do only as told regardless. Survival is learned in the crucible of intense, extreme training that characterizes Divine dealings with a chosen vessel.

Mark it down. Things do not “just happen.” Ours is not a random, whistle-in-the-dark universe. There is a God-arranged plan for this world of ours which includes a specific plan for you. Through every ordinary day and every extraordinary moment there is a God who constantly seeks you. The God who loves us and redeemed us uses these moments to advance His purposes. He is there, and He is not silent. He doesn’t speak vocally from heaven, shouting down His word at you. He uses His Book, the Bible, His people, and He uses events in your life. So be patient with yourself, for God has not finished with you yet.