WHAT GOD IS DOING TODAY
As we begin a new dawn, we often remember that God did great things in the past. We praise God for His mighty works in creation, provision and redemption. We worship Him for the gift of His son, Jesus Christ and the salvation of mankind as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit. We remember the story of the liberation of the children of Israel from Egyptians slave masters; their journey in the wilderness, His intervention in the Red sea and Jordan respectively. All these are God’s finished works; completed long ago even before we were born. The question facing us now is: what God is doing lately or right now and what will He do tomorrow? God has not only done great things in the past, He does great things today and even now. He will continue to do great things for ever.
In this discuss, I shall attempt to ponder on what God is doing today and now. I have chosen an exposition of Psalm 147 verses 1 to 11. It says, “Praise the Lord. It’s good to sing praises to our God; for it’s pleasant, and praise is comely. By comely, it means, pretty, fair and proper and beautiful. It’s marked by our pleasing behavior. The God who created all nature provides for the needs of each individual. He tells the number of the stars and calls them by names; lift up the meek, heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. This God covers the heaven with clouds and gives food to the beast as well as the young ravens who cry unto Him. This God is worthy of our praise. For this reason, the Psalmist declares, “Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises upon the harp unto our God.” In God in Man’s experience, Leonard Griffith, wrote, “When we perceive God’s power, it raises the old problem of providence-in general verses providence-in particular.” How can God be concern with great things and the whole creation and yet He is also concern with the least of His creatures? The answer is not far-fetched; that is what makes Him God and what makes Him awesome. Little wonder in verse 5, the Psalmist says, great is our God and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
I tell you the experience I had some months ago. One day I stepped into my supervisor’s office. Our senior warden was in there and to my amazement; he called me by my first name, Godswill. I was surprised that he knew me by name. I stood spellbound wondering how he could know my first name. We have more than 300 Correctional Officers and more than 100 medical staff; how could he know my name? I have never gone to him or had occasion to talk with him yet he called me by first name. Could he have been attracted by the name, Godswill? I held great respect for the warden, for knowing his staffs by name. That same quality makes God worthy of our praise and honor. He knows each of us by name. In His almighty providence, not a single person is lost. He knows and cares dearly for each of us though He cared for that one alone.
The Psalmist held God high because of his experience with God. When man opens the door of his life to God, He enters in, acts and do for him/her what he/she can never do for self. When God sees an open heart, He comes in and dwells in and does even more than the person desires. In verse 6, the Psalmist says, “The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.” It goes to mean that the Lord, who ordained all law, administers His law. Because one opens his heart to God, he discovers God anew – That God is a God of revelation.
In the Book of Genesis 28:10-16, Jacob dreamt and beheld a ladder was set up on earth and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it [v12]. Jacob experienced God in the dream and woke up the next day and said God is in this place and I do not know it [16]. Brethren, even on earth where God’s creation is sufficiently abundant everywhere, many of us neither see nor feel it. God is our Guide and Protector, Redeemer and salvation but we are still seeking help somewhere else. He is our Satisfier and Provider and Sustainer yet we live in lack, in want and need; look for satisfaction elsewhere. But see the God of heaven has a purpose and preference. He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse; takes no pleasure in the legs of a man The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him [vs. 10-11]. As you thank God, are you fulfilling His purpose? Do we complain about the inactivity of God in our human experience? Or we see nothing else than moral chaos and suffering? People complain about God because they have limited knowledge of who He is and what He is doing. Our God does not only work on the outside but also in the inside of us. It’s our business to recognize and discover who God is and what He’s doing and co-operate with His purposes.
God is doing great things in our world today and many still do not know it. They are devotion of Christian missionaries in hostile countries; relief of human suffering now administered by International social agencies. There are protests against racial and religious bigotry and championship of intellectual freedom and civil liberties by distinguish scientists, courageous educators and enlightened Churchmen and laymen. God is restoring repented human beings unto Him; dethroning the kingdom of Satan and evil dominion. He is opening new ways and direction for prosperity and breakthrough. We have Faith Based institutions and Religious Groups that God is using to touch other lives. They distribute tons of food, water, clothing and medical supplies; establish new homes for thousands of refugees and send help victims of earthquakes, floods, fire and famine as well as engaged in mission trip in disaster areas; God is sending powerful missionaries from Africa and the third world to advanced countries. Some Churches run Food Programs that feed folks weekly. God still heals the broken hearted and gives uncommon peace and favor. God gives new Spirit and promotes people to new dimension, new dawn and new beginning. I discover that I pray and read my bible today than I did years ago.
God has built a New Jerusalem, gathering together the outcast of Israel [new Israel-the Church]. God is not stock with ancient Israel; God is now in the Church. The Church is the Spiritual successor to old Israel, God new covenant people; constituted on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him. These new people, God calls out from all the nations of the earth, entrusts them with His gospel and deals with them as with no other human society. The Holy Spirit is no longer domiciled in priesthood but with Church leadership. The movement of God abides not only with the Jews but also with Gentiles. The ancient Jews denied Jesus as the messiah and faked reasons to deny His son ship and resurrection [Matthew 28:11-15]. They killed Jesus but God raised Him from death in support of His teaching and leadership. The Jews thought that God failed in Christ. They still await another messiah and their existence speaks against the gospel. Judaism and Christianity are not comparable; you cannot practice the Jewish religion and call yourself Christian. The rise of Christianity shows the demise of Jewish religion. That is why the veil tore into two when Jesus died on the cross. It was the demise of Priesthood, Ancient Israel and the Temple [Matthew 27:50-53]. Jesus prophesies [not just caution or woes] in Matthew 23& 24 were to bear the consequences of the generation that hated the Son. They were enemies of God and His son; lived in self deceit. Little wonder Jesus called them serpent, deceivers, fools, blinds, rebellious people and hypocrites. God is in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Him; what Jesus did on the cross can never be reversed. The Holy Spirit is here comforting and advocating for us.
The miracles of God have not ceased in our age. As God delivered the children of Israel from the Egyptians He still delivers people from hurricane, mishaps and unexplainable tragedies and avoidable death. Daily we experience God in the healing of our diseases; the mystery of conception and even when one who had been tagged barren gives birth. As God allowed trials and misfortunes to visit Job, He still allow water to rise and over flows the banks; strong winds and hurricane to invade humanity and even destroys part of creation. Despite the advancement in medical sciences, He still allows incurable diseases to invade our bodies and society. He hardened people hearts and they choose a bad leader on the throne and most of them experienced public disgrace in high offices. God still delivers people from bondage: He impress on us to either leave sin or allow to be exposed to the public ridicule. This has brought in the fall of moral police. They fail their families, friends and colleagues. God commands that His word be preached everywhere in the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus is still reconciling the world to the Father. People are getting saved; God visits his people and do unbelievable things in our lives and society.
Reach: Evangelist Ogbonnaya, Godswill at: weefreeministries@yahoo.com or P. O. Box 720035, Houston, Texas, 77272.