God is at work through us
by Josh Hauser
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They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever (Psalm 112:9a).
Read Psalm 112:1–9(10)
This week, we have been asking: Where is God at work?
God is at work in the waiting. God is at work in the giving. God is at work in the truth. God is at work in faithfulness. God is at work in hope.
And today, we see where all this leads. That God is at work through us.
Psalm 112 sits alongside Psalm 111 in the Scriptures. Psalm 111 describes who God is: gracious, compassionate, righteous, faithful. Psalm 112 describes the person who fears God. And the words are almost identical.
God is gracious and compassionate (Psalm 111:4). The one who fears God is gracious and compassionate (Psalm 112:4).
God’s righteousness endures forever (Psalm 111:3). The righteousness of the one who fears God endures forever (Psalm 112:3,9).
Do you see what is happening? The person who walks with God begins to look like God. What God is, we become. What God does, we do.
‘Good will come to the one who is generous and lends freely, who conducts their affairs with justice’ (Psalm 112:5).
‘They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever’ (Psalm 112:9).
God gives freely to those with empty hands (Isaiah 55). And those who receive from God become people who give freely to others. God’s work flows through us.
This is where the week has been leading. God is at work in the waiting, and we learn to wait with others. God is at work in the giving, and we become God’s givers. God is at work in the truth, and we speak God’s truth. God is at work in faithfulness, and we stand with God alongside those who are struggling. God is at work in hope, and we hold out God’s hope to those in despair.
God is at work. And God is at work through us.
We are not the source. We are the overflow. What we have received, we pass on. What has been given to us, we give to others.
Therefore, let us be gracious, because God has been gracious to us. Let us be compassionate, because God has shown us compassion. Let us give freely, because we have received freely.
God is at work. Through us.
Dear God, thank you for all the ways you are at work. Thank you for meeting us in the waiting, the giving, the truth, the faithfulness and the hope. Now work through us. Make us generous, compassionate, and just. Use us to bring your love to others. Amen.
God is at work in faithfulness
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:13).
Read 1 Peter 4:12–16
Reading the world news can be overwhelming, can’t it? We see a world that is hurting. War, invasions, persecution and racism invade our news feeds continuously.
1 Peter is a great way to answer where God is in these moments. It was written to Christians living across Asia Minor who were experiencing the same things we are seeing in the world today – persecution, rejection and suffering because of their faith. These believers were a small minority in a wider Roman culture that did not understand or accept their way of life. They faced social exclusion, public criticism and, in some cases, legal trouble.
In verses 12–16, Peter tells believers not to be surprised when they face hardships because of their faith. ‘But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed’ (verse 13). This persecution should be met with joy because we are suffering with Christ. Peter’s message is clear: keep going. Stay faithful because God is faithful to us.
God is at work in faithfulness. God’s faithfulness to us.
This is the promise that runs through all of Scripture. In Deuteronomy, Moses tells Israel: ‘He will not fail you or forsake you.’ In Joshua, God repeats it: ‘I will not fail you or forsake you.’ Isaiah declares: ‘Do not fear, for I am with you.’ Jesus echoes it: ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ And Hebrews reminds the Early Church: ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’
Peter’s readers were suffering. They were isolated. They may have even wondered if God had forgotten them. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed, forgotten or alone. If that is the case, then remember God is faithful and at work in that. This faithfulness means God’s promises are kept. It means God does not abandon people. It means that when we have nothing left, God is there, still holding us and always present.
God is faithful, God is at work, and God loves you.
Dear God, thank you for your faithfulness; help us to trust that you are with us, especially when we feel alone. Amen.
Josh lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his wife, Alice, and their two children. Josh enjoys time with his family, the beach and sports of any kind. Josh works at a school, where he feels it is a privilege to share the gospel with the next generation.
God is at work in the truth
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God’ (Luke 6:20).
Read Luke 6:20–26
We have all done it, probably when we were kids.
‘Mum, can I have a chocolate?’ you say.
‘No,’ Mum says.
‘Dad, can I have a chocolate?’
The scam is as old as time. When we can’t find the answer we seek, we look elsewhere to get the answer we want.
We call it confirmation bias now. We tend to seek out voices that align with our own. We surround ourselves with people who think as we do. Social media learns what we want to hear and feeds it back to us. It feels good. It feels right. But it is an echo chamber. It makes us feel comfortable and insular, preventing us from hearing truth and growing.
This confirmation bias was around in Jesus’ time – think about the crowds of people that followed Jesus. Some wanted healing. Some wanted a political revolution. Some wanted their assumptions confirmed. People came looking for a messiah who matched their expectations. People wanted a king.
Luke 6 tells us about a time when Jesus came down from the mountain, stood on a level place and was surrounded by a large crowd. Luke tells us that Jesus looked at his disciples and said:
Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you because of the Son of Man.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are full now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
For many in the crowd, this is not the confirmation bias the people would have wanted. Jesus starts verse 27, ‘But I say to you who are listening …’ This suggests that Jesus knew people switched off and that the truth of the situation didn’t match expectations, so they were already not listening. That is what the truth does to us at times – it makes us uncomfortable. If we don’t sit in that discomfort, then we can’t grow.
As Christians, we believe that God is active in the word; God is active in the truth. We believe that we have the ultimate source of truth available to us in God’s word.
Let’s not shy away from truth. Sometimes, we spend so much energy looking for the answers we want to hear. The challenge for today is to stop, listen and let God speak what is true, even if it disrupts what we want to hear. God is working in that uncomfortableness, so we grow into who God desires us to be.
Dear God, help us to listen to your word, trust the truth you speak and rest in the work you are doing through it. Amen.
Josh lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his wife, Alice, and their two children. Josh enjoys time with his family, the beach and sports of any kind. Josh works at a school, where he feels it is a privilege to share the gospel with the next generation.
God is at work in the giving
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1b).
Read Isaiah 55:1–5
Isaiah 55 was written to people who had lost everything. The Jewish exiles in Babylon had watched their city burn, their temple fall, their identity as God’s people called into question. They had been living in a foreign land for decades, wondering if God had abandoned them.
Into that space, the prophet speaks in verse one: ‘Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
As a sentence, it almost doesn’t make sense. Come to this place where you can buy food and eat for free! It’s almost like we are waiting for the catch: ‘Free food … right … and what do we have to do?’
We often carry that same mentality because we spend our time trying to earn things. We try to prove ourselves. We try to show that we are worthy of help, love or attention.
However, Isaiah’s words show us a different picture. God gives to people before anything is proven. God gives to those who arrive empty-handed. God speaks. God invites. God gives. In every act of giving, in every moment of grace, God is at work, meeting the needs of those who come empty-handed.
Martin Luther described how the psalms talk about our life as ‘simul justus et peccator’ – that we are both broken and beloved at the same time. In this truth, God meets people where they are and offers what they need, just as he did for the exiles in Isaiah 55. The ‘waters’ and ‘wine and milk’ would have carried deep meaning for them, gifts of life offered freely by God. People in an arid land, who knew thirst and scarcity, now heard promises of abundance and life. These promises find their fulfilment in Jesus when he proclaims, ‘I am the bread of life’, and ‘Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’
The same God who called the exiles to come and eat now calls us. The same gift. The same open invitation. The same grace given to empty hands.
God is at work in the giving. And the gift is Jesus himself.
Dear God, we thank you for your generosity. Help us to see that you are at work in all the gifts we receive. Help us to show our thanks to you in our thoughts, words and deeds. Thank you for the greatest gift of all, Jesus. Amen.
Josh lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his wife, Alice, and their two children. Josh enjoys time with his family, the beach and sports of any kind. Josh works at a school, where he feels it is a privilege to share the gospel with the next generation.
God is at work in waiting
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18a).
Read Isaiah 30:18–26
Nobody likes waiting. Tell a young child to wait, and they may scream, shout and throw themselves on the floor. If we are honest with ourselves, we still do this as adults, just in more subtle ways. We live in a world where everything is becoming instant and on demand. Instant messages. Instant answers. Instant gratification.
When I order something online, I find myself checking the tracking nonstop. If I message my wife a question, I notice myself becoming unnecessarily impatient if it takes longer than a minute or two for an answer.
This kind of impatience is not new.
Just before our passage for today, the people of Israel were doing something very similar. Facing a crushing enemy, they did not want to wait for God’s promised rescue. Instead, they ran off to Egypt, striking a quick political deal for security. They were looking for their own instant answers.
Yet in verse 18, we hear the Lord’s response: ‘Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.’
Pause on that for a moment. God longs to bless his people because he is a gracious God, yet he waits. In Isaiah 30, the people are waiting because their own plans have failed. God is waiting for a different reason. God waits because he is gracious. The people have trusted the wrong powers and ignored God’s word, yet the Lord still promises to act.
Verse 19 assures the people that their crying will be heard. Verses 20 and 21 promise that even in hardship, God will teach and guide them. Verse 22 speaks of turning away from false trusts. Verses 23 to 26 describe healing, provision and restored joy. What follows their impatience should be punishment; instead, they find renewal.
God is at work in the waiting.
While we are throwing tantrums, God is at work. While we think we are wasting time, God is at work. While we are ‘doomscrolling’ on social media, God is at work. God’s waiting is purposeful.
And this begs the question, what are you waiting for right now? A breakthrough? A healing? A change? An answer? If you are, remember that in the waiting, God is at work. Right now.
Isaiah speaks of a God who hears the cries of his people, who teaches them the way to walk and who remains their healer and provider. These promises are spoken while the people are still waiting.
So, when waiting begins, it becomes a moment to turn toward God. To pray. To listen. To trust that he is near.
God is at work in the waiting.
Dear God, help us trust in the waiting. Help us believe that you’re working even when we can’t see it. Give us patience and peace while we wait. Thank you for being gracious, for meeting us in the hard seasons, for never forgetting us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Josh lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his wife, Alice, and their two children. Josh enjoys time with his family, the beach and sports of any kind. Josh works at a school, where he feels it is a privilege to share the gospel with the next generation.
Where God is at work
by Josh Hauser
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).
Read Matthew 5:1–12
With so much going on in the world, it is easy to start questioning, ‘Where is God working?’ This week, that is the question we want to start answering.
In the Bible reading for today, Jesus says in verse five, ‘Blessed are the meek.’
While scrolling social media recently, I came across a post about the word used to describe meekness. It talked about the word used in Scripture for meek, which is praus. It claimed that we are using the word all wrong. According to the post, praus was used to describe a trained warhorse, powerful but under control. This then changed the meaning of the verse to suggest that ‘Blessed are the meek’ really means blessed are those who control their power and submit it to God.
Isn’t this a demonstration of the human condition?
We discuss how much shackled power we have, rather than focusing on the Creator who gives strength. When we hear the word ‘meek’, we do not want to appear meek. We see it as a negative. So, people look at the word praus and try everything they can to avoid the reality of what Jesus is actually saying.
Unsurprisingly, in this famous passage known as the Beatitudes, Jesus is not saying that we have all the power and then graciously put it aside to follow God. Jesus is saying that the people who are meek, poor, mournful and persecuted are valued and looked after by God with his unending grace. This is where God is found. This is where God is at work.
God is found with those in need and those who are struggling. So, what does this mean for us?
Simply this: This is where we need to be found, too. With those who are struggling and needing care and support. Because, at some point in life, everyone feels meek, poor, sad, persecuted and in need of help.
Dear God, thank you for seeing us when the world overlooks us. Thank you for calling us blessed because we are yours. Help us to see others the way you do, so that we can be your hands and feet in this world. In your name, we pray. Amen.
Josh lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his wife, Alice, and their two children. Josh enjoys time with his family, the beach and sports of any kind. Josh works at a school, where he feels it is a privilege to share the gospel with the next generation.
Who may dwell with you?
by Anastasia Kim
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Whoever does these things shall never be shaken (Psalm 15:5b).
Read Psalm 15
Psalm 15 asks a question that unsettles anyone who takes faith seriously: ‘Who may dwell in the Lord’s tent? Who may live on God’s holy hill?’
The answer given is searching and demanding. The one who may stand in God’s presence is described as blameless, truthful, careful with words, faithful to promises, unwilling to harm others and resistant to corruption. This is not a casual portrait of goodness. It is weighty. It presses close.
When I hear these words, I do not feel immediately reassured. I feel exposed. To live without causing harm, to speak truth from the heart, to keep an oath even when it hurts. These are not small virtues. They touch daily life, relationships, habits of speech and hidden motives. If dwelling in God’s presence depends on meeting these standards, the door seems firmly closed.
This is why the movement of Scripture matters. What Psalm 15 describes as a privilege once limited to priests – and only briefly – is now opened through Christ. Access to the Holy Place, and even the Holy of Holies, was once guarded by veils and sacrifice. In Jesus, that veil is torn. The Word becomes flesh and pitches his tent among us. God’s dwelling is no longer distant – it is given.
Grace does not make the psalm weightless. Being welcomed into God’s presence through Christ does not turn integrity into an optional extra. The cross does not trivialise our words, our promises, or the ways we harm one another. It takes it seriously enough to bear their cost.
Psalm 15 ends with a promise: the one who lives this way will not be shaken. Not because life is calm, but because life is anchored. Winds still blow. Storms still come. A life shaped by truth, faithfulness and love for the neighbour stands on solid ground.
I live in God’s presence because of Christ alone. I am still called to walk there with care, reverence and honesty, not lightly, not carelessly, but gratefully.
Gracious God, you welcome us into your presence through Jesus Christ alone. Teach us to live there with integrity, humility and love, held firm by your grace. Amen.
Anastasia Kim lives in Brisbane and serves as an aged-care chaplain. She holds a Bachelor of Theology from the University of Divinity and is currently undertaking a Master of Theology at Australian Lutheran College. Her ministry and studies are shaped by a commitment to pastoral care.
At your word
by Anastasia Kim
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets (Luke 5:5).
Read Luke 5:1–11
Miracles are often imagined as moments of triumph or reward. Scripture resists such a simple reading. In Luke 5, the miracle does not erase fatigue, nor does it confirm human competence. It exposes it.
Simon and his partners have already finished their work. The nets are washed. Failure has been accepted as final. Into that exhausted space, Jesus steps into Simon’s boat and uses it as his pulpit. Before any miracle occurs, Simon gives Jesus access to what is his. This first obedience is quiet, costly and easily overlooked.
There are days when my own nets feel just as washed and finished. Only after the teaching ends does Jesus speak a word that contradicts experience. ‘Put out into the deep water.’ Simon answers honestly. He names the emptiness of the night. He does not argue from expertise. He yields to a word that exceeds reason. ‘At your word.’
The catch that follows is overwhelming. Boats strain. Nets tear. But the true miracle is not abundance. It is recognition. Simon falls at Jesus’ knees, not in gratitude, but in fear. Confronted with holiness, he sees himself clearly. This is not shame for its own sake. It is the proper response to divine presence. Like Isaiah before the throne, Simon knows he does not belong here.
Jesus does not depart. He speaks the gospel. ‘Do not be afraid.’ The miracle does not bind Simon to success. It frees him from it. What follows is not stewardship advice or a strategy for growth, but a call that reorders life entirely. They leave the boats. They follow.
In a world trained to negotiate with God, this text restores reverence. We are not invited to manage grace, assess outcomes or protect our nets. We are called by a word that creates faith where there was only emptiness. Even the smallest obedience, offered without certainty, becomes the place where Christ reveals himself.
Lord Jesus Christ, speak your word into our tired places. Free us from fear, and call us again to trust you and follow, for our life rests in your grace alone. Amen.
Anastasia Kim lives in Brisbane and serves as an aged-care chaplain. She holds a Bachelor of Theology from the University of Divinity and is currently undertaking a Master of Theology at Australian Lutheran College. Her ministry and studies are shaped by a commitment to pastoral care.
For whom is the time of liberating grace?
by Anastasia Kim
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor (Luke 4:18a).
Read Luke 4:14–21
Luke tells us that Jesus returned to Galilee ‘in the power of the Spirit’. That detail matters. Jesus does not begin his ministry in Jerusalem, the religious centre, but in Galilee, a region shaped by vulnerability, mixed populations and long-standing suspicion. Galilee was home to many who lived on the margins, including Gentiles, and who were often regarded as socially insignificant. It is precisely there that Jesus goes, led by the Spirit.
This power comes after the wilderness. The Spirit who led Jesus into hunger and testing now leads him into public ministry. In Luke’s Gospel, spiritual power is not found in avoiding struggle, but in faithfulness lived within it. The Spirit does not shield Jesus from fragile realities. The Spirit sends him into them.
When Jesus arrives in Nazareth, nothing dramatic happens. ‘As was his custom’, he enters the synagogue on the Sabbath and stands to read. Spirit-filled ministry begins in ordinary faithfulness. The Spirit does not pull Jesus away from Israel’s worship but draws him deeper into it. Opening the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus reads words first spoken to exiles: good news for the poor, release for captives, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed. These words describe real-life conditions, not abstract ideals.
Jesus calls this moment ‘the year of the Lord’s favour’. This is not simply a calendar year, nor a promise deferred to the distant future. It is God’s gracious time breaking into the present. This liberation does not begin with human action, but with Christ’s declaration that God’s grace is already at work. In Luke, forgiveness is not merely spoken. It is enacted. What binds is loosened. What is crushed is lifted. Those pushed aside are named as the very recipients of God’s grace.
Then Jesus says the words that still unsettle me: ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ God’s liberating grace is not postponed. It is happening now. This ‘today’ is uncomfortable, because it reveals that grace is not reserved for the familiar or the respectable. It reaches across boundaries, toward outsiders and those who were long excluded.
As I sit quietly with this text, I find myself asking whom I expect God’s grace to be for. Jesus makes it clear that God’s work begins among the vulnerable and moves outward from there. Spirit-filled faith does not withdraw from the world. It follows Christ into the places where God’s grace is already being spoken into life.
Today, the time of liberating grace is still unfolding.
Spirit of the Lord, open my eyes to see who your grace is for today. Anchor my life in Christ’s mercy, and lead me toward those who most need your freedom. Amen.
Anastasia Kim lives in Brisbane and serves as an aged-care chaplain. She holds a Bachelor of Theology from the University of Divinity and is currently undertaking a Master of Theology at Australian Lutheran College. Her ministry and studies are shaped by a commitment to pastoral care.