I recently began a study of First Corinthians and have found it really speaking to me. I found especial comfort in verses 26-31 of chapter one. They reminded me that God does not work the way the world does. The world places special emphases on worldly wisdom, wealth, fame, and success but all of these things are usually in opposition of the things God values. Take Jesus for example, He came as a humble carpenter which was the last thing they expected of the long-awaited Messiah. I don’t know exactly what they were expecting but it certainly wasn’t that.
But that is how God works; He often chooses the least expected and very often the least qualified to do His will. God doesn’t work the way we expect Him to. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV). We expect Him to behave in the ways of the world that we have grown accustomed to but He does not and never will. His ways are infinitely better than the world’s.
I found great comfort in these verses because I don’t have to worry about doing it in my own strength. God does not call us to do things we can do in our own strength; He calls us to do things that require our dependence on Him. The nervousness that we feel when He calls us to do something is often further confirmation of the calling. If we weren’t a little nervous that would mean we thought we could do it on our own and didn’t need His help. The feeling that we can’t do this on our own humbles us to be ready for Him to use us for His glory.
If we are too full of ourselves then we have no room for Christ in us. If we become too confident in our own abilities we risk growing prideful and can arrogantly assume that “we” have done all these things. Humility helps keep us mindful that apart from Him; we can do nothing (John 15:5). We need His help in order to accomplish anything of value for His kingdom. In the first few chapters of First Corinthians, Paul is explaining that God works the way He does so that He alone will get the glory. He does not share His glory and He alone deserves the glory.
The truth is that nothing good happens that He didn’t bring about in our lives. We can work for Him but He is the One that helps us to be successful at anything we attempt. I love this because it takes some of the pressure off of my shoulders. I am to do the best I can to follow His leading and trust the results to Him. He doesn’t expect me to do it in my own strength; He doesn’t expect me to be wise enough, good enough, or talented enough to accomplish His will on my own. He plans to do this work through me; my job is to allow Him to work through me.
My job is to make sure I am seeking God’s guidance and to also make sure I am doing things for the right reason. It does not matter how holy and spiritual my deed may be if I am doing it with the wrong motive. God searches the heart and He knows the true intentions and motivations behind every deed done in His name. If I am doing it for any other reason than for His glory, then I am doing it for the wrong reason. My motivation should be to please God and to glorify Him in everything that I do especially the things I do in His name.
“Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” 1 Corinthians 3:13 (NKJV). I want the works I do for Him to survive the fire so I must be diligent to check my motives behind every “good deed” that I do for Him. I must confess, I find this challenge a little convicting and not a little difficult. Honesty forces me to admit that there are times I do things because it is expected, or because it needs to be done, or sometimes just because I feel like I have to.
None of those are reasons that truly glorify God. I must say that Paul stepped all over my toes as I read this passage and was reminded of the importance of checking my motives. When I stand before God, I want to know I did my best to honor Him, and I do not want to see many of my works burn up because I did them for the wrong reasons. This definitely gave me some things to think about. Before committing to doing something, I need to learn to check the intentions behind the answer I plan to give and then if my motives are right I can proceed.
In closing, I just want to encourage you to remember that if God calls you to do something He will equip you to do it. No matter what He asks you to do He will help you to do it. He expects you to allow Him to do it through you so count on Him. And last of all, we need to remember to keep a vigilant check on the motives of our hearts. We must be sure that we are doing the things we do for Him for the right reasons. If we find ourselves doing it for the wrong reasons, then we need to confess it and ask Him to help us get our hearts in the right place. – Katrina Douglas
