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God Works for You

A devotional by John Piper for reading on May 21st

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. ( Psalms 121:1 Chapter 121 1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come? –3)

Do you need help? I do. Where do you look for help?

When the psalmist lifted up his eyes to the hills and asked, “From where does my help come?” he answered, “My help comes from the Lord” — not from the hills, but from the God who made the hills.

So, he reminded himself of two great truths: One is that God is a mighty Creator over all the problems of life; the other is that God never sleeps.

God is a tireless worker. Think of God as a worker in your life. Yes, it is amazing. We are prone to think of ourselves as workers in God’s life. But the Bible wants us first to be amazed that God is a worker in our lives: “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts [or works] for those who wait for him” ( Isaiah 64:4 4 For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God besides thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him. ).

God is working for us around the clock. He does not take days off and he does not sleep. In fact he is so eager to work for us that he goes around looking for more work to do for people who will trust him: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” ( 2 Chronicles 16:9 9 For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars. ).

God loves to show his tireless power and wisdom and goodness by working for people who trust him. Jesus was the main way the Father showed this: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” ( Mark 10:45 45 For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ). Jesus works for his followers. He serves them.

This is what we must believe — really believe — in order to “rejoice always” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:16 16 Rejoice always; ) and “[give] thanks always and for everything” ( Ephesians 5:20 20 giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; ) and have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” ( Philippians 4:7 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. ), and to “not be anxious about anything” ( Philippians 4:6 6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ) and hate our lives “in this world” ( John 12:25 25 He that loveth his life loseth it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. ) and “love [our] neighbor as [ourselves]” ( Matthew 22:39 39 And a second like `unto it' is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ).

What a truth! What a reality! God is up all night and all day to work for those who wait for him.



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