Is this really working? - Devotion for 11/3/08

Is this really working? – Devotion for 11/3/08

Do you ever feel like you’re doing something and you’re not quite sure it’s working or not? Maybe you’re following an exercise and diet plan and not quite seeing the results you were hoping for. Maybe you’re taking medicine for a medical condition and you’re just not sure if it is working or not. Many times we can think of situations such as these where we are taking a certain course of action, hoping and praying to see some sort of confirmation that what we are doing is actually working, and yet we are left wondering, “Is this really working?”

I can only imagine how many times someone like Moses must have wondered if what he was doing was really working or not. As he led God’s people through the wilderness, hearing complaint after complaint, I wonder if Moses every wondered if God had him deliver the right people or not. Frustration was apparent several times in the life of Moses, as it seemed he simply wanted to see some of the fruits of his labor. That is a legitimate desire I believe, and a completely natural one, to want to get to see just some of the fruits of our labors – to have confirmed that what we are doing actually is working and making a difference.

The oldest psalm that we have is Psalm 90, and it is a prayer of Moses. In this psalm, Moses acknowledges the eternal nature of God, the frailty and sinfulness of man, and he prays for God’s grace on His people. In verse 17, Moses prays “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” As Moses prayed such a prayer, let us join with him today in praying that God would confirm the work of our hands, showing us in the places of our frustration what is really working. May God reveal to each of us today what He is really doing through our work.