Oakwood Church Fresh Start Women's Devotional Encouragement for Today Hartland Delafield

It is God’s Work
By Peggy Kleckner

“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.”
Genesis 1:1-5a (NKJV)

I read these verses just recently and God seemed to apply them to my heart differently this time. It wasn’t the “earth” that was without form, it was my life. Before I knew Him I was in darkness and yet the Spirit of God hovered over me. As He called out to me, I finally responded and it was then that He declared light in my soul. Oh, sin still resides in me, but God has separated what is darkness and what is light. He knows what to call day and what to call night. The difference is always obvious to Him.

Please notice with me who was doing the work in these passages. The Spirit of God was hovering, God said, God saw, God divided, God called. You would think that I would “get it”! It is His work. I am so often trying to self-improve. That would mean that everything is about me. He calls me to surrender, to submission, and just like a small child, I keep stomping my little foot declaring, “I can do it myself!” I can’t. Oh, how I have tried!

I am grateful to be His and yet I don’t want to burden Him…after all, hasn’t He done enough? He paid for my sins by dying on the cross, certainly I must have to pay Him back or at least try and make Him proud of me? What a trap! How could one ever “pay back” a debt so large? Especially since every day I add more sin to the debt!

It is time for each of us to lay down our self-imposed burdens, our daily grind of trying to perfect ourselves, and quietly ask what He would have us do. I am sure that as we work at the things He has for us, we will notice that He is doing the greater work in us. The deep work of clearing away the clutter, rooting out the bitterness and any other darkness that still resides in our hearts. Our focus must be Him. Our hearts must be surrendered.

GOING DEEPER:
1. Is there an area of your life that consumes your focus? Has God pointed it out, or are you “self-improving”?
2. When was the last time you asked God what He wanted you to do with your day?

FURTHER READING:
Eph 2:6-10; Psalm 139:23-24

Peggy is a wife and mother of four adult children – two sons and two stepsons. She is the co-coordinator of Oakwood’s Wednesday p.m. Bible Study.