Would we have been speaking Spanish?

I have been dwelling on this question of "Does God Work?" Could everything going on in and around my life really be God at work? I keep remembering Hebrews 11:6 where it says those that come to God must believe 2 things:

1. God IS!
2. God rewards those who DILIGENTLY seek Him.

So a lot of my wondering about God working could really be a questioning of whether God really is.
I watched the movie "Elizabeth" this week. It reminded me that if it were not for the intervention of the weather, the Spanish Armada would probably have conquered England and we would all be speaking Spanish today. Was God working that day to control the weather? Some would disagree, but I happen to believe God was very much at work.

The fact is that God is always at work, but for some strange reason He limits Himself to our will.

That is why a young person can seemingly make a profession of faith in Christ, and yet later on in life come to the conclusion that there is no God. Was God at work in His life? Most definitely. God is still at work. However, it is up to our will to acknowledge Him.
I made the statement to that young man who no longer believes there is a God, "Do you think you are putting your head in the sand"? He didn't seem to think he was. But to have a system of moral behavior, a standard of behavior you insist your children and wife follow, one that is very similar to God's standard of behavior and then say there is no God?

I believe he has his head in the sand. He does believe in a god, a god he finds more convenient that the one in the Bible.

To say the God is not at work in our lives is to say that our spouse does nothing for us unless they are in our sight. One binding force of marriage is never taking each other for granted. As soon as you do, the marriage is in danger. We take God's working for granted. It is much easier to place ourselves at the center of our own universe. It is more frightening to realize that Jehovah God, Elohim is the center of all life, and that our thoughts, wants and desires are to revolve around Him.

In order to see that God does indeed work; that He even works daily in our lives, we must believe that HE IS, and then have our eyes opened to seeing that which is normally invisible, the very fact of His presence in our lives.

Does God Really Work?

The God Who Works?
I'm preaching on Phil 2:12-30 this Sunday. This morning I've been think about verse 13, about how it is God who works in us the 'will' and the 'to do' of His good pleasure. A personal maxim of mine is to always give God one more day to show His power. The reason this is a maxim of mine is that early in my life I was very impatient, and I thought much of what happened in my life was up to me. This often meant beating my head against the wall, or worse yet, getting disappointed because God wasn't blessing what I was doing. I thought problems should go away quickly if I was humble and contrite. Then someone told me that God has a MPP quotient. That's 'Miles Per Problem'. Most of the time God is working a goal in our life, and He is getting as many miles as He can out of that problem. His slowness to work is actually by design and with a firm goal in sight.

I understand that God works behind the scenes, but does He work in Me? That is the really important issue. That is what the people listening Sunday are going to be thinking.

I had lunch with a young man who early in life made a profession of faith in Christ. Even though he was 7 at the time and now he is in his 30's, the memories of his fear of dying and going to hell are so vivid that he still trembles. He remembers asking Christ into his heart. But today he says he is an atheist. All he has are a set of personal values and a desire to be the best person he can be. Once he dies it is all over. Has God been working in this young man? What happened to his early faith?
I had lunch with another young man who was aking a similar question, but from a different perspective. He was not very 'religious', and had been shot while driving his work truck. Six 40 caliber shots went into the cab of his rig, and one went through and through his stomach. He wonders how God was working through that.
As a young boy he remembers going to church all the time, but when he got older, it no longer mattered in his life. He is wondering what to do with his life. Could this be God calling Him to a personal relationship with Him? What happened to the other young man?
Does God work in our lives?
The question I must answer this Sunday is not only does He work, but how does He work the "will" and the "to do" of His good pleasure in each of us?