This pandemic has really got me in a funk. I can’t go to church except virtually. I feel like I have lost my sense of community. Quite frankly, I’ve been asking myself, “What can I do?” You might be asking yourself the same question. You might be thinking there is nothing we can do right now. But I was reminded, God is always at work and there is always something we can do.
The other day, I was complaining to a friend about not being able to volunteer like I have done in the past. It makes me feel anxious and a little useless. My friend shared that he had felt the same way. He missed his church so much he started driving over, parking in the parking lot and praying while he sat in his car.
My jaw dropped open, because I happened to know that he goes to at least three churches a week. So I said, “Just to clarify, you go to all three churches every day and sit in their parking lot and pray for those churches?” Humbly he replied, “Actually it’s five.” Here I was complaining about what I can’t do and this man goes and prays for these 5 churches every day. He is choosing to participate in the Kingdom of God here on Earth. He has decided to do something.
We get to participate in God’s work.
We can be a part of the great work God is doing. Participating by our prayers, our actions, the kindness we share and our attitudes, we can have a positive impact on the world around us. I commended my friend on his faithfulness. Politely, he reminded me that it is only God’s love working in us that allows us to do anything worthwhile.
Ephesians 2:4-10 says, “…because of God’s great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Some years back, I was having coffee with a pastor friend. We were discussing how God works in our lives before we ever realize it. In the Methodist church, we call this prevenient grace. Looking back over my life, I can see God working through other people, relationships and events. All the while, God was and is continuing to draw me into a deeper relationship with Him.
While talking, I shared this idea that we actually get to participate in bringing the Kingdom of God here to Earth. Through our actions, prayers, words, deeds and service, we bring God’s Kingdom closer. However, by those same measures, we could be pushing it away. If this is true, we, as believers, have a great responsibility to do something.
We either bring God’s Kingdom closer or push it away.
So the next time you think, “What can I do?,” I hope you will remember my friend who decided to go and pray over five different churches every day. I hope you will think to yourself, “What CAN I do?,” then I hope you do it! We all can do something and think if we all did, what kind of impact we would have on this world.
Listen to the song below. Make it your prayer, praise, mantra, motto, or motivation. We are part of something great and we get to participate in the Greatness of God and His love! In Jesus’ name, Amen. -M
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