God’s work in our lives is daily, so much more than a one-time event

By Dean Collins

Sometimes we pray for so long and with such intensity that when our prayers are answered it feels like a dream. It takes a minute to realize that God just did something so amazing, so helpful, and so life-giving that you have trouble processing what just happened. You might ask someone to pinch you to make sure you really are awake and not just dreaming!

And suddenly you realize this moment is real. God did something so wonderful, and all you can do is laugh out loud. Your facial expressions change from anxiety to joy. You have to call someone and tell them. What do you tell them? “ I was so smart that…” “Things finally worked out.” Or maybe the best line is the one from the psalmist: “The Lord has done great things for us.”

He does great things

How many times has the Lord done great things for his people? We honestly have no way of keeping up. Yes, we have the scriptures that tell us many times when God did what seemed impossible from man’s view. God acted and life changed for someone, for families, for communities, for nations, for everyone. The God of scripture is the almighty God, and he hasn’t disappeared or stopped doing the impossible. His kingdom lives on and is expanding daily.

All my life I have watched God do the impossible in desperate situations. I’ve seen it in work situations, in family situations, in financial situations, in health situations, in church situations, in countries across the globe, and in our homeland. God is a God who brings restoration and fills our mouths with laughter and our hearts with joy. He truly is a God who does great things.

God’s work is ongoing

In Psalm 126 the psalmist has an awakening to the goodness of God, and he exudes joy. But notice as he expressed his joy and praise to God he continues his prayer. He doesn't just thank God for what he has already accomplished, he literally asks for more: “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb.”

The psalmist began by remembering that God had already done a great thing for his people. So why ask God to restore them again? Maybe the ancient people of God live in a similar world as the current people of God who know that restoration is a process and not just a one-time event. Of course, God is capable of changing anything in an instant, and one day he will change our dead and decaying bodies in a twinkling of an eye at our resurrection. In the meantime and until Jesus returns, our restoration comes day by day.

So yes, we sing songs of joy when God does amazing and wonderful and impossible things in our lives and our communities. But we continue to pray for his continued restoration and favor knowing that as his people we are participating in the work of renewal and restoration until Jesus returns.

The cycle continues

The psalmist closed this psalm with a picture of a farmer who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing but comes home with shouts of joy, bringing an abundant harvest. In Luke 7 Jesus told a parable of a farmer that scattered seed and a lot of it. There was so much seed thrown out that some fell in places where it did not grow because of the soil conditions. Jesus said the seed was the Word of God. We know the power of God’s Word sown in our hearts and minds. His living Word changes us and changes our behavior.

Jesus later validated this by telling us that once a lamp is lit, you do not cover it but let the light shine. His reference was to the faithful acts of service that flow from people who have received God’s Word in their hearts. Discipleship is not just a head thing. A renewed mind engages the whole body to do the work of Jesus here and now while we anticipate the glory of Heaven on earth one day.

Until Jesus returns we will continue the cycle of watching God do small and gracious acts in our lives as well as at times doing things greater than we could ever hope or imagine. We must always receive these small and large blessings with gratitude. But we must never simply shut down after God brings us deliverance. As long as we have breath we must continue to pray for restoration and sow the seeds of restoration generously and far and wide. God will take care of the rest.

Your time with God’s Word
Psalm 126:1-6; Luke 8:9-18 ESV

Photo by Thought Catalog at unsplash.com

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