Authority and provision. It’s easy to focus on them in our pursuit of ministry, but they are byproducts of doing the work that flows from union with Christ.
God authorizes and provides for those who express his will, those who know his heart, those who have joined him in his project and are walking with him in covenant.
They are the ones who find God’s power flowing through them. They are the ones who find authority rests on their lives. They are the ones who find they have what they need to do his will.
God’s power is with them. To sanctify and purify, yes, but also to heal the sick and raise the dead. To prophesy and drive out demons.
Those who seek God’s power for their own purposes are always disappointed at God’s lack of interest in such things. They are busy with their own self-aggrandizement project, and they’re trying to get God to notice, because he seems like he’d be a pretty powerful guy to have in your corner, but God is, at best, uninterested.
He is not a commodity to be controlled or a power to be appeased. He is not a resource to be used. He is the creator of heaven and earth, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the True and Living God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
He draws near to the brokenhearted and answers all who call on him.
But he ignores (and sometimes resists) the manipulators. Those with their own religion project that they’re trying to conscript him into.
Because they are simply pursuing their own ends, apart from grace, God stays out of their way and lets them pursue their projects, hoping they will come to the end of themselves at some point, where he will be waiting.
But those who surrender, who make it their top priority to be involved in what God is doing, those people gain the authority, power, and provision they need to do the work.
So do the work.
Don’t pray for provision so you can do the work. Don’t pray for the authority you need to do the work.
By faith, do the work of the kingdom, and authority and provision arrives. Materializes out of thin air, it would seem.
Do the work and the rest will flow. (This is basically what Jesus says in Matthew 6:33).
Whenever we turn our focus toward that which is a byproduct (authority, provision) we cut ourselves off from the the flow that would actually get us what we’re focusing on.
But when we lift our eyes from our own anxieties about authority and provision, and see the work, then everything we need can flow toward us. When we aim past the initial target, we find we get the initial target thrown in for good measure.
So if you’re worried about provision or authority, you’re in good company. We all do this.
But don’t stay there, praying for more authority, more provision. Instead, just do the work and see if God honors his promise to give you everything you need.
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