Day 40 - Issue 23
John 14:12 NLT
'I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.'
I can’t remember much of any careers advice I got from school. I did better at exams than I expected and so stumbled into A levels. Now able to study things I was interested in, I fared much better and landed at Oxford university.
As my degree reached its conclusion, I had no idea what to do next. I failed to secure a teacher training position or a place at law school. I did want to engage in Christian ministry, which is where I ended up. When I considered the works of Jesus, I was initially only able to think in terms of the missionary task of making Jesus known. I did plenty of that as a youth evangelist and responses were relatively good. However, I cannot be sure of their long-term fruitfulness.
The work of Jesus was in demonstrating trust in God’s faithfulness. While there might have been a moment of uncertainty in the garden of Gethsemane, it was nothing compared to my doubts and fears. This is the work of faith that truly is what is required. While miracles might give one pause to consider faith for oneself, maintaining faith through all the storms of life is a miracle in itself.
The greatest challenge any friend of God faces is maintaining faith in him throughout life, impossible without conviction in God’s own faithfulness. The question is posed and hovers over each of us, “Can you drink this cup?”
QUESTION: How do you measure the work of faith in your own life?
PRAYER: Lord, lead me to the works you would have for me today, and the courage to do them.
