Ways and Works

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and gracious in all His acts.” (Psalm 145:17 CSB)

The ways of the Lord are righteous. We may not always understand His ways, but they are always characterized by right-ness. A “way” is a road, a path, or a means of operating. With that in mind, consider some of the pathways where we find God operating, where we see His right-ness displayed.

One of God’s ways is sovereignty. Our God is a sovereign God. All power and all authority belong to Him. He is the sovereign Creator of the universe, and all of it belongs to Him. As sovereign Lord over His creation, God both controls the occurrence of some events but also allows some events to take place in keeping with the physical laws He put in place. He is sovereign over physical laws, but He often simply allows physical laws to work as He designed them to.

Another of God’s ways is redemption. Our God is a redemptive God. He is a God of restoration, and He often will take a situation that appears to be nothing but destructive and turn it into some constructive. God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are “the called” according to His purposes. That is what it means to be redemptive. God brings something good and tangible out of the ashes of life.

The works of God are altogether gracious. Just as His ways are righteous, so His works are gracious.

One of the works of God is salvation. God sent His Son, Jesus, to show us what it means to live, and what it means to give your life for a higher purpose. Jesus did not have to die on the cross, but He willingly went there so that we might by faith enter into a personal relationship with the Lord, which is how we define “salvation.” Jesus graciously accomplished the possibility of salvation by the cross and resurrection.

Another of God’s works is called “sanctification.” That seems like a rather lofty word, but it is very simple in mean. Sanctification is a process of spiritual growth whereby we move away from the flesh and toward the life of the Spirit. We move from a life characterized by sinfulness and waywardness to a life characterized by holiness and obedience. In other words, spiritually speaking we grow up in our faith.

The ways of the Lord are righteous, and the works of the Lord are gracious.

Lord, We follow You in Your ways, and we thank You for Your gracious works in us. Amen.