“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” ~Ephesians 2:10
This verse is found in one of my favorite books of the Bible and really jumped off the page at me in a new way several months back.
The thought that popped into my head that day was regarding the implications of this verse in light of our current culture of competition, hustling, and striving to make our dreams (especially in regards to ministry work) come to fruition right away.
That kind of behavior often comes from a place of fear, rather than of trusting God. In fact, I heard someone say something on a podcast one day that I completely disagree with and that I think is lending itself to this phenomenon of fearful striving.
The podcast guest said that, as a writer, she believes that there are all these book ideas out floating somewhere and that if we don’t quickly snatch one of the ideas up and begin working on it, someone else will.
It may sound plausible at first, but I cry foul on that fear-based mentality. It is true that if one person refuses to do what God wants to have done, He will raise up another person. But that’s different.
I believe that what Ephesians 2:10 is saying is that if you are dedicated to waking by the Spirit, are remaining in step with God, and dedicated to doing whatever He calls you to do when He calls you to do it, whether that is write a book, lead a ministry, serve at a homeless shelter, acquire a certain dream job, or something else entirely, God will bring it to pass. You don’t have to hustle, strive, pay for followers, spend hours on social media to build a platform, or cheat your way to the “top”.
Instead, you can believe that God is God and that the good works He prepared long before you were born, the good works He wants *you* to do will come to pass in His own perfect timing - no matter what good works someone else is doing!
We can rest in that truth today, friend; we can rest in God's mission and plan for our own individual lives. And I pray that we will.
I am glad you specifically mentioned seeing this spirit in ministry because I see it too and it is quite unpleasant. Doing what God calls me to do when he calls me to do it is a far better approach that yields peace and keeps my eyes focused on him instead of what someone else is doing. The spirits of competition and comparing are ugly especially amongst believers.
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I love God's perfect timing. And as I mature in him I am better able to recognize when he calls and hear his whisper as to what he is calling me to do.
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