“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” (Luke 19:17)
Many who serve the Lord Jesus for the glory of God like to use the phrase, “I feel called by God to ….,” or perhaps “The Lord has led me to….,” “The Spirit moved me to perform this task, do this deed, speak those words.” In all reality, there is no real effective way to express to others this truth, that we are called to work for the Lord, He did not call us on the phone, there was no letter in the mailbox, He did not show up to your house to have tea and cookies and then inform you of what was next on the agenda. “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
In faith we receive our instructions, and in a way that I believe no one can express efficiently to anyone else. The best way that I can describe it at present is a feeling that we understand as truth, as knowledge, a still small voice inside our mind that the world would call the onset of insanity. We hear a voice inside our soul.
No one can properly describe faith, outside of what we are told in the Scriptures, we know that it is not of ourselves, that it comes by hearing the Word of God, (Romans 10:17) that it is, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) I am not speaking here of the faith, the reassuring knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ as Lord, but of the forward momentum of our sanctification, of moving by works, deeds, and words on the path that has been set before us. God speaking to us in our soul, us understanding what it is that He is saying to us, and then acting accordingly.
The intellectual side of us has studied and continues to study His Word, the Holy Bible, to gain the wisdom that He deems necessary for us to understand to move with intent upon our path, the emotional side of us moves completely in faith towards an unknown goal, these moments in our lives that are placed before us for His glory.
“Thy will be done,” must always start with “What is your will for me?”
We are to be willingly receptive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit for the direction that He has chosen for us, both in the intellectual and emotional construct of our being, God does not force virtue upon any of His children, but He offers much to those who seek to glorify His name in all they do. Thus, our opening verse shows us that those who will not remain stagnant, but will continuously be growing, for the little we begin with, the small amount that He offered us to start this walk of faith with will grow, we will be given more to be held accountable for.
It may not make sense to you at the moment, but if you will contemplate these words, they will be seen as truth, faith grows more as faith grows more trusting.
You will know what you are performing for the Lord is indeed from the Lord, you will know, without a shadow of a doubt, that what you are doing is what you have been called to do. As that faith is rewarded with being held accountable for more, you will grow in your faith, and thus God will be glorified even more.
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” (James 2:18) It can’t be done, for none who serve Jesus Christ as Lord can help but to offer unto Him their lives by their works, a transformed mind is a mind that serves the Lord, and those works will be seen as such. Here is where works-based religious organizations fail, here is where many that perform works outside of a reason that the Almighty would be glorified are serving only vainglory, here is where you will find those that are spoken of in Matthew 7:22, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
I serve because in faith I do what I have been commanded to do out of love, no other reason can be explained properly. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Faith hears God speaking in the soul of man and responds in love with actions, and always for the glory of God.