“God works in our working.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 48). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

So, let’s clarify what he means.

Matt says, “It would be a mistake to conclude that since God ultimately gets us unstuck, we should not take action ourselves.”

He goes on, “Sometimes, there literally is nothing we can do but wait. In those cases, waiting is what we must do. But when there is something we can do, we are to do it. Not as a substitute for prayer but flowing out of our prayers… We do not stop working because God is working, and neither does God stop working because we are working. Rather, God works in our working. His work is first, but we are to take action to do what is in our power. Then we can rest, knowing that the results are left to God.

“Martin Luther captured this perfectly: ‘Work and let him give the fruits therefore! Rule, and let him prosper it! Battle, and let him give victory! Preach, and let him make hearts devout!’ This is why I have often said that one of the big mistakes we’ve made as Christians is taking a merely devotional approach to productivity. We have often thought that building emotional fervency and comfort is enough. But that by itself is a passive approach. Biblical spirituality is active. We are to run (1 Cor. 9:24, 26; Heb. 12:1), labor (1 Cor. 15:10), press on (Phil. 3:14), work out our salvation (Phil. 2:12–13), strive (Col. 1:29), and pursue righteousness (2 Tim. 2:22).”

He later says, “Another mistake we often make as Christians when we see people stuck is that we tend to assume laziness too quickly.

“When we see someone struggling with their productivity, we may assume they aren’t working hard enough or that they can just fix the problem by deciding to. We hear this type of thinking in phrases like this: ‘If it really matters to you, you will do it,’ and ‘People find time for what really matters to them.’

“I call this the willpower fallacy. Such thinking assumes that change can be made simply by deciding to make change. It fails to recognize that often the causes of the challenge are complex, and that change needs to be grown instead of installed.”

And this can be where grace and understanding intersect in our looking at others, isn’t it? 

Yes, yes!