God at Work (6)

The works of the LORD are great,
Studied by all who have pleasure in them. Psalm 111.2

The abounding works of God
The works of the Lord present a vast array of extremely interesting and wondrous actions, far outstripping in number and variety, and vastly more significant than all the most amazing works accomplished by our under-the-sun generation of scientists, politicians, thinkers, and tinkerers. While the works we see of our secular and unbelieving age are many and impressive, the works of God operate at an unseen yet real and all-pervading level, reaching to and sustaining every created thing, giving life and good things to all creatures. These are the works by which the Son of Man prepares, sows, cultivate, and brings forth a harvest for Himself in the field of the world.

And these are the works He calls us to pursue with Him in our secular and unbelieving age.

Creation, providence, and redemption – the works of the Lord – embrace the entire cosmos, every creature, all of history, and every facet of human life and culture. God is at work everywhere in the field of the world, bringing His Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. No aspect of human life or the cosmos is untouched by the work of God. He is sovereign over everything that exists, all of which is the result of His creating work. And in the midst of all that is, God is working all things together to accomplish the redemption of His people and the world.

A most welcome affection
As we begin to appreciate the vast scope of the splendor, majesty, and faithfulness of God in His works, responding in thanksgiving and the making God’s works known to others, we will find a most welcome affection growing in our souls – delight. The works of God are a source of pleasure to those who engage them with Him.

God’s works fill our minds, re-sorting all the intellectual categories of our thinking and stretching out the horizons of our worldview. His works captivate and enthrall our hearts, causing glad affections to brighten and grow strong. We discover a pleasure in knowing and sharing in the work of God that is unlike any other pleasure or delight – profound, spiritual, wholesome, unaffected by events in time and space, and brimming with joy.

The more we study the works of God, the more we will delight in them; and the works of God will assume a new priority in our souls, as we make more time to remember, reflect on, and respond to the works of God with thanksgiving and service. The pleasure we find in thus remembering the works of God will cause our lives to change – how we regard and care for the world, what we seek in our relationships with others, how we spend our time, how we fulfill our roles and responsibilities

Nobody wants to live a dour and depressing existence. We must all have things in our lives that give us delight, and God has made us in His image, so that we should find our principal and ultimate delight in Him (Ps. 16.11), as He makes known Himself and His will to us through His Word and His works.

Wonder, beauty, power, love
How do we experience this pleasure? What is it like, to delight in the works of God? This is difficult to encapsulate in words, as delight is such a personal and inward experience. Nevertheless, let me suggest some forms of pleasure which remembering the works of God have engendered in people of every age and culture.

First, wonder – that child-like sense of one’s imagination brightening, expanding, discovering new worlds and possibilities, and venturing into new places, as old assumptions and ways of thinking are refreshed, renewed, and revived. The experience of vastness, newness, and of being welcomed into the infinite – wonder!

Along with wonder is beauty – the experience of theme, proportion, balance, perspective, color, tone, and mood, combining to bring that sense of “Wow!” We know beauty because we want to linger before it, and visit it again and again, for it taps into streams of joy running deep within our soul.

I should also mention the experience of power, the thrill of knowing, in the face of unlimited power, the simultaneous sensations of fear and safety. There is also the sense of security and of participating in power that we may know in the Lord’s wisdom, provision, attention, compassion, and favor, a feeling of wellbeing that grows strong in one who spends much time remembering the works of the Lord.

And withal, the experience of God’s steadfast love. Of knowing, as you wonder at the night sky, admire the beauty of a Bach cantata, stand before the power of a rushing wind, that your ability to know such works is only because God, every moment of your life, having created you in His image, upholds you by His Word of power, and has redeemed you to full and abundant life in knowing Him and delighting in His works.

God’s promise is that, by attending to, remembering, studying, and engaging with His works of creation, providence, and redemption, we will know true and wholesome pleasure, and find incomparable delight growing in our souls. And as that occurs we will also discover something else: What we delight in, we tend to seek. Increasingly, we will linger over the works of God, celebrating before Him with glad hearts, eagerly joining with the Son of Man as He goes forth in all His works to sow the field of the world for harvest.

For reflection
1.  Why does God want us to find pleasure in His works? How have you experienced this pleasure in the works of God?

2.  Do you think delighting in the works of God can strengthen our relationship with Him? Explain.

3.  How can you find more time to remember the works of God, and to discover the pleasure He has for you in them?

Next steps – Transformation: Choose something to focus on for a few days – perhaps a particular song bird, or a tree or other plant in your yard. Do a little reading about your chosen object. Reflect on your reading and observations. What do you see to provoke you to wonder? What is there of beauty or power in your object? How are you led to think about God as a result of this exercise? Share your findings with some Christian friends.

T. M. Moore

For a more developed view of the Kingdom, and of the Gospel of the Kingdom, order a copy of our book The Kingdom Turn (click here) or The Gospel of the Kingdom (click here).

We look to the Lord to provide for our needs, and He does so through those who are served by this ministry. Please prayerfully consider becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe with your financial gifts. You can send your tax-free contribution to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452, or use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.