After reading in James 2 today, I was reminded of my teenage years back when a family friend suggested we combine with them to share the song "Screen Door" by Rich Mullins with the local congregation. With it's bluesy melody, fun rhythm, and convincing lyrics, the song basically stated that faith without works is indeed dead, it's pointless, it's "like a screen door on a submarine". I know we had a good time practicing to share that song, but I'm pretty sure at that time I didn't understand the heart and the truth behind the lyrics.
So many times recently, I've asked the Lord... "but what do You want me to do?" As if my doing something is going to make all the difference. I've been trying to search left and right to figure out what "works" I have to do to show evidence of what the Lord has shared with me, to prove my faith.
I came back from a conference recently that's theme was "Occupying for the Lord" and to me that seemed to mean some sort of action.
After the conference, however, and all this revelation and encouragement all I got was "wait and pray". Everything in me wanted to cry out "but what do I do?!" Ugh. I'm so impatient.....but thank the Lord that He knows us. He needed to show me His sovereignty and that the work was indeed His and not my own. He started to show me that whether it was me doing the physical work or just praying behind the scenes... the ultimate point is that He should be getting all the Glory and all is for His Name's sake.
It says in James that Abraham offering up Isaac was the work in response to the faith. ... So here came this simple, yet profound, answer from the Lord. Isn't works just obedience to Me?
I've found that sometimes works can be nothing but being still and praying. Oftentimes this is the hardest work of them all: to know that the Lord is in control and working and that He has asked you to be still and work through prayer only. For me, it is so hard. As humans, we love what is tangible. We love things we can see or taste or touch. But the Lord so delights in obedience over works and over sacrifice and sometimes it means that we don't see the fruit of our prayers at first or maybe ever, but if the Lord has asked it of us and we are obedient to it, it will bear fruit.
"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fats of rams." -1 Samuel 15:22
Sometimes, however, the Lord does ask us to take physical action. Maybe as small as speaking a word to someone, or teaching Sunday School or maybe even in something that seems bigger, like becoming a missionary in another country.
The problem that arises is that I could frequently use "I'm waiting for the voice of the Lord" to account for my laziness or unwillingness to give up my own comfort.
"I'm pretty sure that there is someone more qualified to talk to Suzy about that."
or "God, I Just don't feel up for prayer meeting this week. I know you must want me to catch up on my rest. I just need an evening off to relax."
"God wouldn't send me Uganda, away from my family, in a place that could be considered dangerous, would He?"
We tend to convince ourselves that our own feelings are the voice of God. It's comforting to our selfish soul, but it just leads to more death of our spirit and essentially leads to disconnect from God. I'm not saying that God is calling us all to be missionaries or to do seemingly grand things for Him. What I'm saying is that He, often times, will ask us to do things that are not within our comfort zone; they're not within what we think is logical or rational or enjoyable or even within this box of who we know God to be. Because of our feeling of inability or lack of knowledge or just lack of desire, we often times ignore or push away opportunities that God has placed in front of us for service or "action" to be His hands and feet in this world of need.
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I oftentimes think that having some leading to go serve in another country would be amazing, and I feel like even if I could do some sort of outreach locally or evangelize in the community I would have some sense of obvious meaning in my service. I could maybe feel that I had done something great for the Lord.
But for me, I have found, that the most challenging thing is exactly what the Lord has called me to. And that (for now) is to encourage, to minister to, to comfort, to challenge, and to pray for/with those who are closest to me: my coworkers, friends, the fellow believers that I meet with, my family, etc. It seems like it would almost be easier to just go somewhere else and preach the Gospel to strangers. But the Lord is teaching me that in these "small" things, He receives just as much glory.
The thing with connecting with people that are already close to you is, they know your failures, they will probably challenge you as much as you do them, and it seems to carry this extra weight -- sometimes it means extra hurt for us, or extra difficulties in relationships, or just learning to be more vulnerable than we ever really wanted to be. But this is what the cross is, and it is ours to carry, that we might under its weight learn the character of Christ and be changed by it. Not only are we changed more into His likeness, but in being more like Him, we let more of God into our lives and through our lives that He might be Lord over every situation and be able to minister through us.
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The Lord has kept me in the dark about so many things... and I think this is the reason why: when I get a piece of His intention or His heart, I tend to run with it on my own strength. I become as the "foolish Galations" and try to finish with my own two hands what the Spirit has started. But thank the Lord that He is patient and I am learning. What I find is that it's not just the end result in a matter that pleases the Lord, but more that we are willing to follow Him, obey Him, and step with Him as He steps. And this affects a more eternal "end result".
God's heart in making man was always related to His desire for fellowship. If our works and our plans and our ideas are outside of our fellowship with God, then we have stepped out of His purpose in creating us. He longs to be with us, to walk with us, to lead us, to encourage us, to talk with us, and to bring us into His glorious plans. Our God's heart is FOR US. May we not miss this in our day to day run around the mill.
So back to this faith and works business. Faith without action is not faith. Faith knows the heart of God and therefore moves forward walking in it. But action without faith or knowledge of who God is or what He is doing is the same if not worse. It's just burning a lot of time and energy and maybe getting a few gold stars added to your portfolio or your Sunday School chart, but in God's eyes it is meaningless.
It just comes back to the simplicity of getting to know our Lord, walking with Him, learning of Him in His word, trusting Him, and obeying Him... even when He nudges us into unfamiliar or uncomfortable territory. Our God loves us with an unimaginable love, and His heart is always for our good. Simple faith and obedience is what brings Him the most glory. Just look at the life of Christ.
