Filling In The Gaps

"So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others." 2 Peter 1:5-7 The Message (MSG)

by Alexandra Copeland
The other day, I heard a very great man of God say that God never says ‘no’ to our prayer requests. His answer is either, ‘yes’, ‘wait’, or ‘I’ve got something better for you.’ I really loved that statement. It wreaks of the kind of optimism and spiritual maturity that we should aspire to. God is in the business of taking care of the needs of His people, and we can see this over and over in His Word. Philippians 4:19(KJV) tells us, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” If all of us truly believed this promise, the world would be a very different place. We wouldn’t be so concerned about the clothes we wear, how we’re going to pay next month’s rent or house payment, or where our next meal is coming from. We’d have every confidence that as we take care of God’s business, He’ll take care of ours.

Taking care of God’s business builds our faith. Everything that our Heavenly has done and continues to do is for a reason. Much of His reason for things pertaining to our lives on earth concerns our spiritual growth. Through the Apostle Paul, Heavenly Father admonishes us in 2 Peter 1:5-9The Message (MSG), “5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.”

God’s whole plan for us is contained within our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All of our aspirations and dreams for a better life are wrapped up in how closely we align ourselves with his example. Father God has given us the best that can be given. In John 3:16-18 (NLT), Jesus said, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus Christ saved us, and he made it available for us to have his spirit abiding inside of us continually.

Every day, through our experiences on earth, we have an opportunity to affirm our Christ identity and to grow in faith. As I’ve stated many times before, faith is our response of gratitude to God for all that He has done for us. It is the only acceptable way to please Him, for Hebrews 11:6 tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith. It’s very important to Heavenly Father that we learn to trust Him and know that we can let go of our burdens and cares with the full assurance that He’ll take care of every detail. There’s so much work to do in the earth, so much help that others require in order to find their way to Christ, and we’re the ones to do this work. We’re the gap-fillers, and this is why we don’t have a minute to waste.

Jesus Christ schooled a crowd of folks that were seeking him out, but not for the reasons they should have. They wanted him to perform miracles and feed them food for their physical hunger. In John 6:27-29 (NLT) he told them, “27But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” 28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

Don’t misunderstand, Jesus Christ wasn’t telling them to sit on their hands and do nothing. To believe in Jesus Christ, the One sent by God, is the greatest action there is. James 2:26 affirms that faith without works is dead. There is no way that a person can know their true identity in Christ and do nothing with it. Jesus Christ empowered us, and this empowerment is activated through our belief in him. We’re never the same once we accept him as our personal Lord and Savior, and we have more spiritual capability through his power than we can use in 100 lifetimes.

Jesus Christ said in John 14:12(NLT), “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” It is hard to believe that we could possibly imagine doing greater works that those of our loving Lord and Master, but the truth is that we have his example to go by. Human beings have been able to bless, support, and care for people in marvelous ways because of the love of Christ that flows through us and motivates us. If more of us were willing to fill in the gaps, we would witness the Spirit of God moving through this earth like never before.

When we look at own lives and the scope of all the problems and ills of our generation, we might feel so limited in our span of influence. We might think we couldn’t possibly make a difference, but this simply isn’t true. You and I don’t know all the ins and outs of God’s Master Plan, but the spirit that indwells us knows it, and he will work within us to help us fill in the gaps.

In John 14:15-17 (NLT) Jesus Christ told the disciples, “15 If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”  The physical presence of Christ isn’t on the earth, but through the indwelling Holy Spirit, his spirit lives in us. Jesus Christ said that we show our love for him by obeying his commandments. The Spirit will help us to obey Christ. He will lead and guide us into all truth. When the Spirit says ‘go left’, we ought to go left, but there are times that we do not take heed to his directives because we’re too preoccupied with other things.

If we’re so consumed with worry about the details of everyday life that we can’t focus on the things of God, we’re not going to be able to fill in the gaps. We’ll miss valuable opportunities to be a blessing, and therefore we’ll miss opportunities to receive a blessing. It is in the context of performing greater works that Jesus said in John 14:13-14(NLT), “13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”  Yes, the Father wants to see us blessed and fulfilled in our everyday lives, but His greatest desire for each of us is that we obey His Word, follow the example of Jesus Christ, and grow spiritually. This is God’s business! When we take care of it, we’ll see that He will take care of all the things in our lives that need attention, as we can carry forth the work that Jesus Christ has commissioned us to do. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.