God's Beautiful Work

Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy” (Psalm 126:3)

Distinctly known for his wisdom, King Solomon put it prudently: “I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.”(Ecclesiastes 3:14, The Message)

He is quoted as being “wiser than any other man… spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five…” (I Kings 4:31-32). He is credited by Bible scholars as being the author of the book of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. Then why did he say that what God has done IS done? He reasoned, “So we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.”

But in sharp contrast with “quitting asking questions,” men, after all, are inquirers by nature. Actually, our proclivity favors our being doubters more than our being believers. Remember the time, as a child, when you looked at a cocoon and you instantly wondered whether it was really true that that little larvae inside that tiny sheath would see the light of day?

Bible scholar and theologian, Adam Clarke, beautifully worded the essence of God’s work: “God's works are well done; there are order, harmony, and beauty in them all. Even the caterpillar is a finished beauty in all the changes through which it passes, when its structure is properly examined, and the ends kept in view in which each change is to issue. Nothing of this kind can be said of the works of man. The most finished works of art are bungling jobs, when compared with the meanest operation of nature.”

And that is what is so miraculous about God’s miracles, they always leave us in so much awe that we are left so speechless that all we can do is marvel and agree “God’s done it and that’s it!”

I myself am a living witness to the grace and goodness of the Lord and I will tell of the wonderful things that He has done and is continually doing. God’s beautiful work in the Jesus Is Lord Church here in Canada is a testimony to His sovereign power and everlasting love.

Like the caterpillar in the cocoon, we’ve all had to go through painful changes. God allowed us to experience trials, problems and difficulties so that, like the caterpillar, we too would emerge as butterflies. It is because of the Lord’s work of grace alone that the JIL Churches here continue to grow and multiply. It’s been twenty-four years since He began His work here and still, He continues to give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:16). And because His goodness surrounds us, even those that are meant by evil to hurt and harm us, He has turned around to work for our good… “So we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.”

 Here in Canada, God’s beautiful work did not end with just the miracle of multiplication; He also gifted us with His divine provision. Because of His grace and goodness, there is a beautiful place of worship for His people in Ontario. The twin-building of JIL International Centre and JIL Cornerstone Church on Christie Street in Toronto are testaments to His faithfulness. Whilst this may seem impossible to men, all things are possible to God (Matthew 19:26).

These magnificent edifices are God’s beautiful work and we would like to proclaim it from the rooftops that these are not just because of God, these are for God and God alone. Thisministry exists to glorify only God and for this, we declare that this God-given structure where it lies exists as a shelter to God’s heartbeat: His saving love for the unwell, for the needy and for the broken.

There is no true beauty apart from the beauty of the Lord. The beauty of the Living God that the Jesus Is Lord Church has already and can continue to experience is a beauty that has defied and continues to defy our expectations, our hopes and our dreams.

Like that caterpillar in the cocoon, YOU are God’s work in progress. You will go through painful times that are “meant by evil to hurt and to harm you.” But do not fear, He can and will turn those times around and work them for your good… So you’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear. Even as a caterpillar, you are a “finished beauty in all the changes through which you have passed” and the beautiful work you will become when you emerge as a butterfly can only be such a miraculous miracle that all you and everyone else around you can do is to marvel and agree “God’s done it and that’s it!”

For in the end, what the LORD’s beautiful work reveals is simply this: how beautiful our LORD is.  And if there is anything to be desired in this world, it is Him who makes all things beautiful.

“… God has made everything; as all things in creation are made by him, for his pleasure and glory, and all well and wisely, there is a beauty in them all: so all things in providence.”

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