An inventor invented a machine that had lights, bells, whistles, pulleys, gears and you would press a button and it would start running round and round and round. Somebody asked, “What does that thing do?” He said, “I don’t know, but doesn’t it run beautifully?”
For some, that is how they view God in their lives. They’re active. They go to church, they sing and pray, yet they begin to wonder ‘what is this doing for me’? If they don’t answer this, as trouble comes, it’s all too easy for them to just stop.
Yet the Scriptures give us an answer. In 1st Peter 5:10 we read:
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
Here it tells us four things God is doing to those that are doing his will.
Perfect: He is completing us. He is taking his work begun in us when we are baptized into Christ (Colossians 2:12) and finishing it off. In our obedience and suffering, he polished and finishes to his standard (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Confirm: We like to be sure. So we double check, we verify and make absolutely sure. In following in Him, He is verifying the promise we have in his Son. We can know we are in his promises (2nd Peter1:10).
Strengthen: We wear down. We get tired. Yet God has not left us without a “filling station” a place to recharge. In Him, we find the strength to carry on (Philippians 4:13).
Establish: God is making us into a house that can withstand when the wind blows. He sets our pillars deep so that we are not easily toppled. He grounds us so we are not taken away (Colossians 1:23)
Next time someone asks you “why you go to church”, tell them what God is doing to you. He is making you complete, solid in your hope sure in your destination with enough energy to finish the journey solid and secure so you know you never be lost.
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