Inevitable

I was talking to someone who read my WFTD the other day that referred to giving credit where credit is due. Somehow this person came away from reading this piece with the mistaken idea that I believe that we are really insignificant in affecting our future, everything is all set by God and whatever will be will be. Not so, my comments were intended to suggest that we should look for God’s will for our lives and when we find it, we will know that we are on the right path, because things will fall into place and we will enjoy peace. If we achieve success, we should realize that every good thing comes from God and give Him the glory.

The Bible clearly tells us that we should work hard to find the will of God and to carry it out for Him. The Bible tells us that God already knows how things are going to turn out for us. This is difficult for us to understand, but is nonetheless a fact. There are prophecies throughout the bible that confirm that God knows what is going to happen before it happens. God knew that Billy Graham would become a great evangelist and many hundreds of thousands or even millions of people would come to know the Lord through his preaching. Billy was given wonderful gifts by God that enabled him to do what he has done. Billy is to be commended for his lifetime of hard work and sacrifice for the lord’s work that continues even today. I am positive that he will enjoy rewards beyond belief when he joins Jesus in heaven, but I am just as positive that he would give the Lord all of the credit for what he has accomplished for the Lord.

Billy Graham was given the gifts, but if he had not used them, not one of the millions of people he has preached to would have received the gift of eternal salvation from the Lord because of his efforts. God knew ahead of time that Billy would work hard for God, but he did not “make” him do it. Being given gifts and using them to glorify God are two different things. Billy stepped up to the plate and went to bat for the Lord. He has worked incessantly for the Lord throughout his life.
God also has given other people gifts including us. He knows who will use them for His glory and who will not. How many millions of people could have been led to the Lord by us if we had worked as hard for the
Lord as Billy Graham? He will not make us use our gifts for His
purposes, that is up to us. We are just like the ants in the Bible verses below, we must do what we do on our own volition. Think of all of the talented people who could affect millions of people on earth if they would use their gifts for God…Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Britney Spears, U2, President Bush, you.

Yes we have a big impact on what we achieve and how we use the gifts God has bestowed upon us. God knows how our lives will turn out, but our hard work or lack of it will determine it. There are rewards of unimaginable magnitude awaiting those who work hard for our Lord and Savior.

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Proverbs 6:6
Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which having no captain,
Overseer or ruler
Provides her supplies in the
summer,
And gathers her food in the
harvest.
How long will you slumber,
A little folding of the hands to
sleep-
So shall your poverty come on
you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed
man.

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