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Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

1 Kings 7:23-8:21
John 5:17-30

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

John 5:19-20 (CSB): “Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these so that you will be amazed.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

If we are truly Jesus-followers, then we should follow Jesus and do the things He did, at least the things that He desires for us to do.

What do we learn about Jesus in John 5:19-20? Did He come to this world to do anything He desired? Was His life all about Himself?

Of course not!

In the verses I have chosen for today, Jesus made it clear that He would not, COULD not, do anything on His own. He only did what He observed the Father doing around Him.

Was it difficult to see what the Father was doing? Not for Jesus. He said that the Father loved Him and “shows him everything he is doing.”

So, the Father revealed His will to His Son as Jesus was looking to see what His Father was doing. Then, Jesus would simply join the Father in His work each day.

If you have never obtained the “Experiencing God” workbook or book and carefully gone through the material, I would highly encourage you to do so. Henry Blackaby and Claude King build a biblical case and make it abundantly clear that we are to follow Jesus’ example by looking around us to see what God is doing and then join Him.

Any unbeliever can make up their own minds about what they will do with their life and the days that make up that life. But a Christian who is following Jesus’ example realizes that he or she marches to the beat of a different drummer. He or she is always looking to see what the Father is up to, and then they join Him.

This means that Christians should be watchful every day. What is God doing around them? Did He bring that discouraged person into your proximity so that He can encourage them through you? Did He put that needy person right in your line of sight because He wants to meet their needs through you? Did He cause that unbeliever to strike up a conversation with you because He wants to speak the Gospel to them and point them to Jesus?

If we live this way, life can become an adventure. We will always have reasons to be watchful. The Lord will almost always be in the forefront of our minds as we are watching to see what He’s doing around us. When we see what we believe He is doing and join Him, we aren’t just doing good things. We are actually joining the Lord in His work. And this elevates our activities and gives them even greater purpose and value.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you to cultivate eyes to see what He is doing around you each day.
  • Ask God to help you know how and when to join Him in what He is doing.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into Jesus’ words in John 5:19, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What does it mean that the Son can do nothing by Himself (John 5:19)?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)