God will always be sovereign.  But we can be useful. 

I am always encouraged by the words of Paul to the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:32. It reminds me that the task that we have been given by our Lord, is both strident, while at the same time simple. 

It is strident because both people, and even we, often get in the way of what God wants to do. We are not fully convinced the Holy Spirit in people can really be enough to grow people into the image of Jesus. We know it in our heads, but often, we act in the opposite.

It is simple because ultimately if God doesn’t move His people, they will not be moved. When seen from this perspective, what God does is the most “viral” of all things. Often, sight unseen, and without programmatic fanfare, God Himself moves people, and His desire for their maturity and increased witness multiples. 

This is why the words of Paul encourage me. In spite of the warnings he has just given to the elders, he concludes: “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”