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What are You Doing for God?
From Romans 4:1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 4Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. 13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
"Father Abraham had many sons, and daughters too; Many sons had Father Abraham. I am of one of them, and so are you; and we keep marching on..." It is a song I have known forever. It is a song that my children know and one that was sung to keep kids awake, or was it adults working with kids? because of the hand motions and leg motions and head motions. The song is about the man called by the Bible the father of faith. It was Abraham's willingness to trust God that gave him that title. Before he took that first step towards the land promised him, it was his faith that blessed him. Faith, not works, was the source of Abraham's faithfulness. Abraham fit right into what God was doing, not the other way around. You've seen the saying, "Don't ask God to bless what you're doing. Find out what God is doing; it's already blessed." Abraham already had a life and he was comfortable in it; then God came and showed Abraham what life could be if he would only leave behind what he was already doing to step into the faith realm of the unknown. I love verse 3 of this passage in The Message version: "What we read in Scripture is, 'Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.'"
God is already doing something for you, once you find it and enter into it, you will be blessed. You must have the faith to trust God and enter into what God is doing rather than trying to get God to enter into what you're doing only for yourself. Later in verse 5, same version, "That trusting-Him-to-do-it is what gets you set right before God, by God. Sheer gift." What marvelous gifts have you passed on because you thought your work was more important than God's? Existence gets in the way of living and we usually don't realize it. We set before us a to-do list and follow it so closely that we lose sight of what God is doing for us and the doors that God may be opening for us and we keep walking the hallway of familiarity and routine, the black and white realm of everyday life and we miss out on the full color of adventure and joy that awaits us in God.
The way to a discovery faith is to build on whatever faith you have now. Pray and ask for a deeper faith. Read God's Word and put yourself in each story. Are you blessing God or are you content just seeking blessings for yourself? See what great blessings await those who seek to bless the Lord. You can with faith.
PRAYER: Loving God, open to me the doors of blessing You and Yours. I've walked this same hallway for so long that I need to know what You are doing for me instead of wondering if what I'm doing is enough. Guide me to be a blessing to You and Yours. This I pray in faith, like Father Abraham, in the One who showed us how, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
