Walk of Life – Day 16 – January, 2021 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs.
NEW BEGINNINGS – NEW WORKS
Proverbs 16:3 “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.”
We all have a desire to renew our work. We do not like the same old routine, even if we get accustomed to it. we would desire to see some sort of change which would make our work more interesting. Here we read in the above verse which tells us that when we commit our works unto God, He will fulfill our purposes. So, it is not we that can renew our work, but it is the Lord who can make our work new.
This reminds me of the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, “O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years,” Habakkuk 3:2. As the years pass by, Habakkuk wants to see the Lord working in him new every year. He does not wish to remain the same old person who he was earlier, but he wants to see himself as a better person every new year he enters into. How many new years have we celebrated? Do we have the desire to see the ‘new work’ of the Lord? Are we wanting to see ourselves new every year or are we compromising with the old, unbaked person that we were earlier?
We can present ourselves new physically, by putting on a new dress, getting a new haircut, changing our accent and many more. However, there is one aspect where the newness is required, but we ignore it as we can do nothing by ourselves. If we examine ourselves this day asking ourselves a simple yet most important question, “Have you experienced the newness or freshness spiritually?” If the answer is yeas, then Praise the Lord. If you do not have an answer for it, it is something very important for you to think my friend.
Changing your physical appearance is easy, but bringing newness in spirit is something that we cannot do it the way we do it physically. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to renew our spirit. We learn this from the prophet Habakkuk who prays to the Lord, asking Him to renew His works in him as the years pass by.
How can the Holy Spirit work in us? What is our duty?
Imagine you are locked up in a room. There is a single window in that room. It is all dark inside, but it is all bright outside the room. When there is lot of brightness outside the room, why does the room still stay dark? Because it is locked and there is no opening for the light to enter in. when you try to slightly open the window, the light just gushes in.
This is the case of the mankind. We are blessed with the Holy Spirit, but we do not let Him in. We happen to lock the doors of our heart. Sometimes because of our pride, over confidence and sometimes because of feeling sufficient with little. How then can we expect the works of the Lord to be renewed? It is like asking the doctor to stand outside the operation theatre and urging him to perform open heart surgery.
Our God is not a burglar to break the doors of our heart and enter in. You can refer to the word of God, God never treats us as puppets or robots controlling us. He gives us the choice of free will. In Revelation 3:20 we read that the Lord Jesus Christ says that He is standing at the door and is knocking at it. The one who has created the entire universe, you and me too, does He not have the power to barge in without asking us to open the door for Him? If the Lord Jesus really choose that path, the work on the cross would not be required I felt. He could have simply said one word which would save all the mankind. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the epitome of love, love respects and does not treat us as slaves or robots. The Lord Jesus Christ wants us to willingly open the doors of our hearts for Him to enter in.
Our duty is to first open the doors of our hearts, by confessing, believing and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior. Secondly, we should fill our hearts with the word of God.
The verse in John 16:13 clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit will speak of the things that He hears, nothing of himself. Many people pray saying, “Lord, guide me, lead me by your spirit.” This is a perfect prayer. However, you see the answer only when you fulfil the condition. When you do not fill yourself with the word of God, and simply ask the Lord to guide you, how do you expect God to speak to you to guide you?
Do not neglect the word of God. Fill your hearts with the word of God, enabling the Holy Spirit to work in you.
Only when you let the holy Spirit work in you, you can experience the newness in the works of the spirit. Not just that, the routine works that you have been doing will no longer seem boring. As the holy Spirit starts working in us, He also works through us and we and our works become new. The same old home, same old work place, same old public or private transport, but the person in you is new. People around you see the newness in you which makes them happy and praise the Lord, the cause for the positive change in you.
NEW YEAR RESOLUTION: Dear Lord Jesus, revive thy work in the midst of the years. I admit that I have been compromising with an unbaked state of mine and feeling self-sufficient. I have closed the doors of my heart and have been limiting the work of the Holy Spirit. That is the reason I have not been experiencing that newness in my spirit. Lord, I open the doors of my heart, kindly work in me. I will fill myself with your precious word and have it completely worked in me and through me. I seek your help to experience that newness through your works. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, Amen.
