As children of God, we were created by God to do things He prepared in advance for us, so that we practice them. It is what the Bible teaches us in Ephesians 2:10, where it is written: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Through this verse, God reminds us that some good works were already prepared for us, and what we need to do is to enter into those works. The key is then found here: to do the works God wants us to do, we need to enter into those works.
Achieving the plan of God for our lives requires understanding what works we need to do, and it is one of the most complicated challenges for some of us as children of God. Indeed, to find those works, the main question often asked is this: what is your will for me O Lord? What do you want me to do?
Acts 9: 1-19
In this passage, the Bible tells us how God directed two men. One of them, Paul, was made blind by the Lord, and another one, Ananias, was the man used by God to heal him of his blindness. In the two cases, God told them what to do. There is an important point here to take into consideration: God showed them what to do. Paul knew where to go and what to do after having been blinded, while Ananias knew later what role he had to play with Paul. God talked to each of them directly, and this is how they were guided. In this regard, this passage illustrates what I mean: it is when you are guided by God into what He wants you to do that you achieve His purpose for your life.
Acts 13:1-3
Another example is given in this passage. Several years after his meeting with Jesus, Paul served in the church of Antioch, and the Holy Spirit called them to missionary work. This is how Paul and Barnabas started their first missionary travel. The rest is history. From those two passages, we can understand that when God guides us, we are successful in what He calls us to do.
Through this post, I want to help each reader to understand that it is through the works God prepared for us that we achieve His plan for our lives, not through the works we prepared ourselves for. That is why I want to share with us three important points to go into the works God prepared for us.
1. To enter into the works God prepared for us, we need to serve in our local church
The works God calls you to do to achieve His plan for your life will be shown to you by God. Indeed, He is the author of the work you have to do, then He will guide you to those works. To do that, He could use different ways. However, if you are looking to achieve His plan for your life, one of the best ways you can use to enter into those works is through service.
In your local church, God gives you multiple opportunities to serve. You can then serve in the worship team, the ushering team, the audiovisual team, the cleaning team, etc., and by serving in different activities, you will be able to understand what are the best works that correspond to you. Indeed, it is through service that you can discover the gifts God gave you, and those gifts will naturally guide you to the works God prepared for you. Your gifts are always related to your calling.
2. By prayer
Prayer is indispensable to understanding what are the works God prepared for us. As we saw in the two passages I mentioned, God talked to people to guide them into things He had planned for them to do. It is an image of prayer.
In my own journey with God, I understood the power of prayer to find the plan of God for my life. I was continuously praying to know what God wanted me to do, and I was serving in my church at the same time. Those two things were hugely beneficial for me, and today I continue to practice, and even more, prayer. You cannot know the works God prepared for you without using the power of prayer. It is a powerful tool to be guided by God. Do you have a prayer life? If you have not, start now.
3. To enter into the works God prepared for us, we need to be perseverant
In the Bible, the infamous Judas Iscariot is the best example I can give to illustrate what I mean. Being among the Twelve, Judas did not persevere with Jesus. He betrayed Him and became the most famous traitor of all times. He was called to do great work, but because of the love of money, he betrayed the Lord. If you do not persevere in service, you will not be able to enter into the works God planned for you. As a child of God, I had the opportunity to serve with other Christians. However, for one reason or another, they stopped to serve God, and it created a spiritual stagnation in their lives, and some of them even gave up faith. If you do not persevere into the Lord, and particularly into His service, you will never enter into the works He planned for you. After all those years of perseverance in service, today I can see the result in my life: I am doing what I believe the Lord wants me to do. We do not enter into the works of God because we served without hardships. We enter into the works of God because despite hardships we never gave up.
I really hope that you were blessed by this article, and I pray it contributes to your spiritual growth and the achievement of the plan of God in your life. If you like this post, please share it with your friends, and don’t forget to subscribe to my other platforms!
Grow in Christ, and achieve His plan for your life!
Herve ONANGA KINGBO.
