John 6 | The Great Question And The Simple Answer

Some questions are more important than others. "What are we having for supper?" is less critical than "What am I going to do with my life?"

The disciples posed a foundational question to Jesus that grants us an answer to one of life’s greatest concerns.

Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" John 6:28)

This is what any serious follower of Christ wants to know. "I don't want to go through my life and not cooperate with God in His work. How do I get in on that? How can I so live that I am accomplishing God's work, not my own?"

They had walked with Jesus long enough to get a taste of a man "working the works of God." "How do we do what you're doing in the way you're doing it?" was their cry.

A SIMPLE ANSWER

As usual, Jesus boiled it down to a sentence. In fact, a word. "This is the work of God: believe in Him whom He has sent." "Believe" is the operative word and the one we most confuse and neglect. It is not mere head knowledge.

Of the writers of the Gospels, Matthew uses the verb ten times, Mark ten, Luke nine, John ninety-nine times! Believe means to trust, depend upon, rely on, place your faith in, commit to. It is to change your whole mode of operation.

God is on a relentless mission to move us from the place of independence (which began in the Garden) to dependence. We need to get back where we belong. Back to moving in sync with God, united with Him, and doing His work.

To not believe in Him is to do life ourselves, trusting in our ability, our power, our thoughts. "Paul would call it "putting confidence in the flesh" in Philippians 3.

To trust in Him is an entirely new way of operation. And it brings Jesus into the equation. We are no longer doing our works, but His. We are no longer limited by our insufficient power, but by His inexhaustible energy. We no longer can draw only from our limited store but are resting in the inexhaustible resources of God.

Want to work the works of God? Believe.

THE HOURLY QUESTION

The question then comes for us in every endeavor, every day: Am I in a position of faith right now? Am I depending? Am I trusting Him? Is what I'm planning my idea or His? Is this God-initiated and God-empowered?

And such a life, of course, is marked by humility, a voracious study of God's Word (to hear from Him in this connection), and unceasing prayer. A man who is not praying is saying that he thinks he can go a day, week, lifetime without Christ. Prayer is the great indicator of dependency.

Jesus said that "apart from Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5). If I am not operating in dependence, I have no chance of doing God-work. But connected to Him, I can have ever joyful expectation of a Divinely effective life!

Father, we rest today in Your absolute faithfulness. We are so grateful that we can join You in Your powerful, eternal activity, simply by turning to You in faith. Help me see every problem, person, and circumstance today as an opportunity to learn to trust You more and display Your glory.