God Invites You to Join Him
Memory verse: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him (John 14:21)
You may be asking, “how does God invite me to be involved with Him?” Let’s review Jesus example from John 5:17, 19-20. Then answer the questions:
“My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working. I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does”
Jesus’ Example
The Father has been working right up until now
Now the Father has me working
I do nothing on my own initiative
I watch to see what the Father is doing
I do what I see the Father doing
The Father loves me
He shows me everything He is doing
How did Jesus know what to do in His Father’s work?
How did Jesus respond?
The Father loved the Son and took the initiative to come to Him and reveal what He (the Father) was doing or was about to do. The Son was alert for the Father’s activity around Him, so He could unite His life with what the Father was doing. As God’s obedient child, you are in a love relationship with Him. Because He loves you and wants to involve you in His work, He will show you where He is working so you can join Him. Jesus watched to see where the Father was at work. Then He did what He saw the Father doing. For Jesus, the revelation of where the Father was working was His invitation to join in the activity. When you see the Father at work around you, that is your invitation to adjust your life to Him and join Him in that work.
Is it possible for God to be working around you without your seeing it? Yes. Elisha and his servant were in the city of Dothan surrounded by an enemy army. The servant was terrified, but Elisha remained calm. “Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17). Only when the Lord opened the servant’s eyes did he see God’s activity all around him.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem and its leaders as He prophesied the destruction that would take place in A.D. 70. He said, “if you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). God was in their midst performing wonderful signs and miracles; yet they did not recognize Him.
Two Factors for You to Recognize God’s Activity Around You
You must live in an intimate love relationship with God
God must take the initiative to open your spiritual eyes so you can see what He is doing
Unless God allows you to see where he is working, you will not recognize it. When God reveals to you what He is doing around you, that is your invitation to join Him. Recognizing God’s activity depends on your love relationship with Him and His taking the initiative to open your spiritual eyes to see His activity.