Working Alongside The Father
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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The other morning while I was sitting in my living room I looked outside and saw something that really brought scripture alive to me.
Outside one of my neighbors was working in his yard, and his son, who is probably about three years old, was "working" alongside him. Now anyone watching this from the outside could see that despite the boy's best efforts, he wasn't doing much. He simply did not have the strength or expertise to do the job. But that didn't seem to matter at all. The father walked alongside the boy, doing the brunt of the work, but the boy had no clue. From the smile on his face he was happy to be with his dad and proud of the work he was doing.
As I witnessed this, I couldn't help but sense the strong spiritual parallel present. We Christians, like the boy, also work alongside our heavenly Father. And like the boy, we don't have the strength or expertise to do much on our own. But our Father doesn't mind. He's just happy to have us with Him, working alongside to get the job done.
Maybe this illustration presents a problem for you because when you're working, God isn't there with you. If that's you, I cannot encourage you enough to join God's work team. Ultimately, anything you do on this earth on your own will stay on this earth and have no eternal effect whatsoever. Yes, intellectually you can prepare a sermon on your own and if you're a good speaker, you can even deliver it, but unless God is present preparing hearts to receive the message and inspiring what is said, it is useless.
As Jesus said "Apart from Me you can do nothing." I don't know about you, but I certainly feel put into my place after hearing that. Yes we have certain talents and abilities, but without God with us, all of our efforts will have no eternal impact.
So how do we ensure that God is working with us? Well having a daily relationship with Him is the first place to start. If you walk with God everywhere you go, that will flow into your work for the kingdom.
Also, if you are involved in any ministry, make sure you spend time in prayer over it. Pray that God would be working with you and that lives would be touched and changed.
Yes, you don't have to bring God with you and in truth, a lot of times a ministry with God or without God looks remarkably similar on the outside. On the other hand, having God on your team changes the inside and the inside, although not visible to anyone else is where souls are saved and lives are changed.
So today, why don't you spend some time evaluating your ministry and praying that it would be God who's running it all and you're just the one following directions. Maybe you won't see the difference here and now, but I can promise that you will see the change once you reach eternity.
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.