As I was reading Acts chapter fifteen this week I noticed something in verse five. When Paul and Barnabus are returning to Jerusalem after their mission the scripture states “they declared all things that God had done with them.” Instead of boasting about what they were able to do, or even saying that God had helped them accomplish miracles the narration states that the things they had accomplished were what “God had done with them.” All credit is given to the Father, and it is recognized that the conversions and miracles which Paul and Barnabas had brought about were not theirs but His.
As I pondered this scripture I realized that the things that I do when prompted by the Spirit are not my works at all. They are the Lord’s. When I submit my will to Him, act obediently, and live worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, He can use me to perform great and wonderful things. I know that I have helped others in the past through service and friendship, but I worry that I seldom realized that those works were not my own but that they were the Lord’s. He was working through me.
Now that I am preparing to serve my Heavenly Father as a full time missionary I know it is crucial to recognize that I am not doing my own work but the work of the Lord. In fact, my mission will not be my mission at all. It will belong to Heavenly Father. I want to learn to acknowledge His hand in all the good works that I do. When I return from my mission I want to state, like in Acts chapter fifteen ‘look at what God has done with me’ not ‘look at what I have done with God.’
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