How often have you heard someone say, “Just knuckle down and do it!”?  How often have you heard someone say, “Just let go and give it to God!”?  Well, which is it?  Do you do it or does God do it?

There is a lot of confusion in the body of Christ today; a lot of teaching that tells people they don’t have to do anything at all because of His grace.  They go as far as to call anything we do “works” and “legalism”.  On the opposite end we have others who are so into “doing, doing, doing” that they don’t even know what grace means.

Well, it isn’t all up to God and it isn’t all up to us!  He makes it very clear in the Word that we have a part to play.  We need to know the difference between His part and our part in certain segments of our lives.  The promises of God are conditional, just like any covenant.  A covenant, a contract, a promise says:  “IF you do this, THEN I will do that.” 

A few examples of conditions in the Word:

Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and (then) all these things shall be added unto you.”

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (paraphrased), “If you hearken and obey My word, then all these blessings shall come upon you.”

John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep my commands.”

2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If a man does not choose to work, neither shall he eat.”

It quickly becomes clear that we cannot sit on our sofas eating bonbons all day and expect to receive anything in life.  We do have a part to play.  Since the Word provides us with knowledge, and God tells us He will give us the wisdom to use that knowledge – IF we ask Him (another condition – James 1:5) – let’s ask for it.  That’s the first step I take in determining His part v. my part in the things of life.

The second step is to act on that wisdom.  Jame 1:22 in the NLT says, “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” 

Two things happen when we ask for wisdom and act on it:  1.  God meets us in our step of faith – He is then able to do His part since we have done our part; and 2.  We find solutions to our issues of life.

Take some time today to search the Word for the knowledge you need right now.  Then ask God for the wisdom to handle that knowledge.  Once He speaks to you (and He will), act on that immediately.  You will be glad you did!