Praying For God's Great Work In Us To Be Lived Through Us

2 Corinthians 9:8

I mentioned last week that in these early days of the new year I wanted to share some of the truths from God’s word that have been like the bedrock in my life for many years.

I shared the other day from Ephesians 2:10 that reminds us that we are God’s masterpiece created in Christ Jesus to do good work that God has prepared in advance for us to do.

Now along with me when I was struggling, when I heard those words I thought, well, that’s fine but I just don’t have what it takes to make that be real in my circumstances.

I still remember the day  - and I may have told this story before – when I was sitting in a circle with some other teachers in a library in a place called Kaohsiung in Taiwan and we were having a short time of prayer before the school day began, as we did every day.  I had a job at the time that had me circulating between schools and about once a month I was able to spend a few days with the staff and students at this school. 

This particular morning the following verse was read:

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8

I’m sure I’d heard that verse before but that day God wrote that verse on my heart.  God was able to be so generous to me that “in all things, at all times, having all that I needed” I could do what God had planned for me to do that day and every day.

I’d lived with a sense of lack and poverty for most of my life.  I’m one of 12 children and we didn’t have a lot as we grew up.  Much to my mother’s faith and hard work we never went hungry and we always had clean clothes to wear – they may have been more patches than anything else but they were tidy and clean.  However, we, as did so many others, had to work hard to just scrape by. 

Somehow poverty and inability was written into my soul not so much, I think, by the simple life we had, but by hard things that were said and done to me.  I felt less than and inferior.  I didn’t feel like I had the character, the abilities, the looks, the opportunities and certainly not the blessing of God to go after my dreams and hope they could become reality.

That morning in that little circle in that library, God awoke in me a faith, not in my personal abilities, but in God’s loving plan for me and His ability to bring it about as I put myself into His hands and did what I could under His direction. 

Some heavy burden lifted off me that day and hope grew in me that there were good things that I could do and even if I didn’t see all the resources today for the end of the job, if I would work with what I had today, God would provide all I needed going forward so His plans could be completed.

Well, that was quite a few decades ago and here I am today astounded by all the opportunities I’ve had and all the ways God has blessed me so Partners in Hope could bless many others.  God has brought people and resources, houses and ideas, partners from far and near to be part of what He’s done in these years.  Together we’ve done things I never even dreamed were possible. 

The best part for me, the burden of anxiety and worry was lifted and God has shown me how to keep my focus on today, on His goodness and just be faithful to use what I have today and watch Him make something so much greater out of it.  Here we are back at the 5 loaves and 2 fish lunch of the little boy that is such a picture for us of how God makes so much out of so little. 

So Lord we do give thanks that You are the God who can make the universe out of nothing.  You speak the word and it comes into being.  If you can do that on such a grand scale, planets and stars, this earth and the universe, there’s no doubt that you can do that in our little hearts and simple lives today.  It’s your promise – not just a vague hope we have – that God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8

And Lord, that’s not just something for myself and Partners in Hope but it is a word to every person You’ve created.  So today, would you grow faith in our hearts to believe Your amazing words to us.  We open our hearts to receive the blessing you are abundantly pouring out, that blessing that results in us in all things, at all times, having all we need so we can do many good things.

Give us grace to understand that what we think we need and what we actually need may be two different things.  Give us hearts for what good work you have planned for us to do and give us courage and persistence to do what we can today so You can take it and bless it and make it something better than our wildest imaginations in time.