So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:7

Naomi was a teen when she learned a valuable lesson about God many of us may not have gotten yet.

Fourteen-year-old Naomi Chavez wanted to start a Bible Club at her school so she asked her history teacher to be the club’s sponsor. “That day,” she recounts, “he took me to another teacher’s classroom for a lunch meeting and when I stepped into the class there were three teachers there. They said, We’ve been praying for you. They had been praying for a student to step up and lead a club. We think we’re pioneers,” said Naomi, “but God is at work before we even start.”[1]

Yes, Jesus said, “…My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17).  Amazingly, followers of Jesus have the privilege of playing a part in God’s Kingdom.  Scripture says, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).  Yet it can be overwhelming to see the world as it is and think of the immensity of the task of telling everyone, everywhere of God’s love But, Naomi would remind us: God is at work even before we start!

Pastor Rich Villodas writes, “Good missional theology and practice believes that wherever we go, God has already been working. We don’t bring God anywhere.  Rather, we discover through prayer and conversation where God has been at work.”[2]

Jesus-follower, God is at work around you.  Jesus said, “Go and Tell” (Mark 16;15).  When we step out in obedience across the globe or at home, how exciting it is to see that He’s already at work.

[1] Chavez, Naomi [@richvillodas]. Comment on God has always been working. Instagram, August 2, 2022, https://www.instagram.com/p/CguAAW0ANgQ/.

[2] Villodas, Rich [@richvillodas]. God has always been working. Instagram, August 2, 2022, https://www.instagram.com/p/CguAAW0ANgQ/.