"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." — John 9:3
Big Idea #2: God’s goodness is more important than our badness.
This is the foundation upon which this devotional rests. We will be further ahead if we put our focus on what God is doing right instead of what man is doing wrong.
This is one of the many lessons I learned the hard way. Years ago all I could see was the wrong — the wrong in me and the wrong in everyone else. I thought this was a mark of spirituality — recognizing sin and false doctrine, finding the faults from which we needed to repent. And, of course, there is a place for that. But I didn’t comprehend that there was anything more to the Christian life.
You would think that all this attention to sin would cause me to purify my life and get rid of all known sins. But, in reality, the opposite happened. The more I focused on everything that was wrong, the more bitter, impure, and cynical my thoughts became. I finally came to the point where I gave up on myself.
The verse that "saved" me was Philippians 1:6: "…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." No longer was Dwight Clough going to accomplish anything great for God. No longer was Dwight Clough some kind of man of God. I knew better. But I began to realize that there was something greater than my apathy, my rebellion, my impurity, my anger, my fears. I began to realize that I was in the hands of God. God’s work in me was the thing to celebrate, not my work for Him. I might blow it. But God doesn’t blow it. He never makes any mistakes.
God is so much older and smarter than we are. He runs circles around our enemy. He knows exactly how to deliver us from all our sins and problems. Stop and think about it. He’s been doing this for a long, long time. He’s very, very good at what He does. God is not so weak that He ran out of energy after He figured out a way to save us from hell. He has all kinds of energy and ingenuity left over to save us from anything else that might be going wrong.
God is doing a great work inside you. Do you know that God’s work inside you will be on display for all eternity? The seraphim knew that the whole earth is filled with God’s glory. How did they know? Because His glory is being revealed in the people He redeemed.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.