Ephesians 3:20 “God can do anything. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
There are many people within the Body of Christ who seem impressed with their own works or ministry. It sometimes appears as though Christians believe God is amazed with all the things they do for Him and the church. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Nothing in all of God’s Word indicates that God is now, or ever has been, impressed with even the greatest of human aspirations or accomplishments. God is not astounded by how large your vision is, how high you set the bar, how great your goals are, or the eminent exploits you plan to attempt. There is nothing so significant, greater, richer, or more fulfilling than what God has planned for your life, compared to what you could accomplish on your own.
Philippians 3:7-8 “The very credentials and accomplishments these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why… because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.”
What Paul is saying here is that everything he had ever accomplished was rubbish, or in his words—dog dung. All Paul had ever done was insignificant in light of the Lord’s ultimate goals and plans for Paul’s life. By accepting Christ and dumping his own plans, he embraced those of Christ. As he took on the mind of God in Christ Jesus, Paul’s potential for life changed, instantly. No matter how great we dream or how big our vision, it will always be insignificant compared to the plans God has in store for us.
Paul deemed all things outside of Christ to be but a loss compared to the knowledge gained in Christ and by assuming faith in His spirit and salvation. Paul’s words speak of the world and secular privileges which sought a place in his heart before knowing Christ. How could material things pretend to have had any merit? With Christ, Paul deserted and counted the past as a loss. For the knowledge of Christ alters and changes us completely—our judgments, thoughts, and beliefs. We are made into new creatures in Christ, with His thoughts and desires becoming the determining factor in our lives. In and of ourselves, we are undone without decency to appear before God, for we are guilty in our sin. There is a righteousness provided for us in Jesus Christ—and it is complete and perfect.
Many times I have set out to accomplish a task or achieve a goal in my life. Upon completion, I may have stood back and been pleased with my own efforts, thinking, “wow, what a great job I did.”
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there is anything wrong with being satisfied and pleased with our own hard work. I am saying it’s easier for us to be enamored with the success of achieving our own dreams and goals than those of God. That is why I relate to Paul saying “all man’s greatness is insignificant compared to knowing Christ.” We find ourselves when we are led by His will to carry out His plans, goals, dreams and visions for life. This is true for all believers.
In order to realize our fullest potentials and achieve great and wondrous things, we must be sure that God’s will and direction is first and foremost in our lives. We must be submitted to Him, and follow the guidance of His Spirit working in us. As He directs our paths, we attempt to please him with everything we do—this is a prerequisite. By always remaining aligned with God, He will be pleased in what we do. Having God’s confirmation that we are on the right path He wants us to go in, helps us reach our final destination in victory.
Psalm 8:3-4 “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
We are the creation, and not the Creator. As such, we can only see a small fraction of the overall situation and overview of our entire life. On the other hand, God, our Heavenly Father, sees everything. He sees it all—the Big Picture. He sees our whole life—from beginning to end. So no matter how great our designs are, or how vast our imagination may be, it is nothing compared to the wisdom, knowledge and vision of God.
We must set aside our own aspirations and let His will and direction be fully implemented in our lives. By doing so, our lives will be full of great and wondrous feats for God, and we will exceed all we ever imagined or hoped for.
So do not be satisfied with the mere dreams, visions and goals you have for your life. Let your agenda become God’s agenda. Let His vision become your vision. Let God’s plan become your plan. He alone puts our past, present and future into perspective—His perspective. In Christ and Christ alone, we have the “already done/not yet seen” viewpoint with God in our lives. Now THAT’S impressive.
Categories: God
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Darrell Creswell - A Study of Christian Grace 
Well said.
What a wonderful encouragement your daily teachings bring into my life. Thank you Darrell.
Exactly the re-affirmation I needed to hear, today. Bless you, Darrell.
Beautiful!
What a wonderful reminder reminder for us today. Without Him being our purpose and life we are nothing. We can only please God by being totally commited to Him and let Him lead us as He sees fit.