God has graciously planned our lives and given us a special work to do; He has his hand upon our lives in every circumstance to develop in us the characteristics that will enable us to fulfill His plan for us. Pastor Chuck Smith explores this theme in this teaching from our series taken from his book, Why Grace Changes Everything.

Called by Grace

It is so important to remember that God's hand is on us by grace. All of us were called by grace. As Paul said, It pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace (Galatians 1:15, KJV). I don't deserve to be called to serve God. I don't deserve to be saved. I don't deserve to be in heaven. I deserve the hottest spot in hell.

Yet that is not what God has given you or me. God has graciously planned our lives and given each of us a special work to do. Some people are able to fulfill the plan of God for their life in just an hour's time; others of us are slow and plodding, and it will take us a lifetime to fulfill God's ultimate purpose for us.

Remember Mordecai's question to Esther: “How do you know but that God brought you to the kingdom for such an hour as this?” (Esther 4:14).

The major purpose of God for Esther's existence was fulfilled in just a few days. God raised her up, brought her into the Persian court, and made her the wife of King Ahasuerus in order that He, through her intercession, might spare the Jews.

God has a special work for each of us to do, and it is necessary that all of us be prepared for that work. Many of us will spend the majority of our lives in preparation before our day will come. We will fulfill the purpose of God for our life and then we will pass on. God's purposes for us will have been accomplished.

Wherever we find ourselves, God has a reason for placing us there. He has His hand upon our lives and upon each circumstance in our lives. We may be going through difficult trails, but hardships are necessary. God wants to develop in us the characteristics that will enable us to fulfill His plan for us.

God is working in each of us. We are His workmanship, His poiema or masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). God will work in each of us according to His grace so that we might accomplish the work He has ordained for us in His kingdom and for His glory.

Beware the Snare

Satan knows that God's hand is on us, and he will try to use our weaknesses and inabilities to discourage us. The devil often puts unreasonable demands upon us, making us think God is behind them and prompting us to strive and struggle to achieve a level of perfection beyond our capacity. As Satan harasses and burdens us, many times we fall into despair. We become extremely discouraged and we want to quit. But whenever we try to fulfill a standard that God has not set for us, our hearts grow heavy. And the results can be tragic.

A young boy with a physical handicap had been attending our church. After every service he made an effort to come up and talk to me. He had great difficulty speaking, yet I always admired his ability to express himself. I also admired his intelligence; his questions were good and insightful.

He was also extremely troubled, however, and one day he tried to throw himself in front of a car on a busy road in front of the church. He was brought into the office, and we prayed with him and called the authorities. We felt for his own safety he needed to be examined by doctors. He was taken to a hospital where he was examined and released.

It was clear he was suffering under a load of condemnation. “Chuck, he cried. “I just can't quit smoking.” I tried to tell him not to worry about it—that his smoking did not make him a second-class Christian. The following Sunday he was back at church and told me God had dealt with him. He said he had come to a place of real commitment, yet I could tell he was troubled. Clearly, Satan was accusing him about a weakness in his flesh and tormenting him about his physical handicap.

One day this burden of discouragement and condemnation cost this young man his life. He jumped to his death off a balcony at a local high-rise hotel—all because he allowed the enemy to use his weaknesses to discourage him.

If only that young man had learned that we can't be more than the person God enables us to be! None of us ever achieves any value apart from the work of God's Holy Spirit in our lives. Thus, we are not to fret. We are not to condemn ourselves. We are not to berate ourselves constantly for our failures. We are only to acknowledge and recognize our weaknesses, to humbly say, “Lord, I know that I am weak. I need Your help. I turn this over to You and I ask You, Lord, to do for me what I can't do for myself.” And He will.

All Are Welcome Here

The body of Christ is a beautiful thing. Every part of the body is vital and important. What a helpless and weird body it would be if it were all a mouth! God has made me a mouth in the body, but surely the whole body isn't a mouth. Many parts of the body are much more important than the mouth. How beautiful it is to see the body of Christ functioning as intended, with people from every walk of life and demographic group and background working together to serve God in unity!

God wants to reveal His Son in you wherever you came from, wherever you are, and in whatever you are doing. Let Jesus Christ shine forth through your life, your attitudes, your reactions, and your responses.

We used to sing a chorus in church: “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, all His wonderful passion and purity. Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine, till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” This is more than just a beautiful chorus and a marvelous prayer. It should be the desire of each of our hearts.

As David prayed, Oh Lord, let Your beauty be seen in me. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness (Psalm 17:15, KJV).

By the Spirit, all of us—the lovely and the plain, the strong and the weak, the brilliant and the slow—are being changed into the likeness of Jesus. Together we are the objects of His grace. And together we shall all be satisfied on that glorious day when we awake in His likeness.

How could it be otherwise?

In the next installment, Chuck reminds us that we are all called by grace and that we are also His workmanship.

Follow the series “No Favorites in the Kingdom” at Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

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