The Way God Works
Albert & Mark Friend

If you could find a perfect plan from which to build your life and business, would you use it? Would you study it over and over to get the most out of it? Would you discipline yourself to work the plan if it would give you “control” over your life and your business? Then you need a Bible plan. God’s Word gives you control when you discipline yourself to obey it. You do not control it with self-will, but you control it by being obedient to the Word and letting it perform. Let God be true. If you will show up and do the deeds, He will appear. God is a covenant God and is in covenant with you. His Word He will perform.

A plan based on the Bible will produce results. God gave us His plan. Genesis Chapter One is the plan of God. He declared the end from the beginning and wrote out His plan.

When you look at a plan to build a house, you see in your mind the house before it is built. The plan is what controls the work to be done. You control the building of the house by obeying the plan.

God has great plans for you and your business. Search out His plan for you. Obey His plan by doing the deeds outlined in His Word. In doing this, you will control your prosperity. He will make you prosperous. This requires a mind-set that does not waver. It requires you to conquer your unbelief. Your mind-set is what keeps you in control and on course. All things are possible to the person who believes.

When you get honest with God, you want to please Him. You begin to study His mind through His Word. His Word reveals His thoughts toward you. Thoughts are pictures in your mind revealing a plan for you as an individual. When you act upon this revelation, you are being obedient to God. The revelation is your controlling factor. Let it control you. It is your word from God. His Word He will do. To let God be true, your unbelief must go. God wants to show Himself to the world through your obedience to Him.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

If you will study the first chapter of Genesis, you will find the plan God followed to make man. The plan is known as “The Seven Days of Creation.” Everything in this seven-day plan was designed around the crown of His creation, “the man.” There was a work of the first day, a work of the second day. In fact, there was a work performed on each of the seven days that was a necessity to the making of man. Each day’s work had a part in man’s existence. God performed the work of the first five days and part of the sixth day in preparation. On the sixth day He made man out of the dust that He created in “the work of the third day” when He caused the dry land to appear. The point being, every part of a plan is important. When you skip part of your plan, you do not have all the necessary ingredients to finish your end product. In doing this, you deceive yourself.

The work of the seventh day is a very important part of your learning. This is the time when you pull back from it all and focus on God. You rest in Him. You put all things back in His hands. You rest and relax knowing the God of all the earth will do you right. You rest from your labors and praise Him for your successes. You make good memories of your successes so you will have a motivational recall when the next big problem arises. You will know you can fight this giant because you have already killed a lion and a bear.

Light Shining out of Darkness

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19

Notice: ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn.

* This book will become a shining light to you.
* Read it often. Work the principles.
* Here it is for everyone to see.
* Learn it well.
* Fine tune it to your life daily.
* Make it a daily habit to do something to advance these principles in your life.
* Make a plan for your personal life.
* Make a plan for your business.
* Your personal life and your business life are closely woven together.
* This wisdom is older than I am.
* I found it because I went looking for it.
* I consider the principles in this book to be basic to all of mankind. Every person was created to operate by these principles. You would do well to take heed of them as a light shining in a dark place.

* I am writing this book for a wide group of people.
* To those who have never heard this information, you need to be a hearer and a doer.
* To those who have heard it and did nothing, you need to study it for new meaning.
* To those who have heard it but put it off until another day, you need to quit procrastinating.
* To those who have heard and were distracted, you need to get back to it.
* To those who did something and quit too soon, you need to start again.
* To those who are going it but are getting weary, you need to get excited again.
* To those who are doing it and succeeding, you need to fine tune what you are doing.
* Posture yourself to walk though these seven doors God has opened for you. Be accountable only to God and yourself.

The Light Turns On

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen 2:7

Man is a living soul and a soul is a spirit. Man is a “spirit being” called a soul. Man is a soul that God has given a body of flesh. And the body is the earthly house of the soul.

The breath of life is a spirit given by God to put life into the body, This spirit is not to be confused with your soul being a spirit.

The body is a complex awareness nerve system of flesh made available to the soul. The soul has contact with the world through the body’s five senses of touch, taste, sight, hearing and smelling. Without the soul the body is dead. The light turns on and off at the level of the soul.

Stop and think. Where does new knowledge come into your life? It comes in at your soul level. It is light that shines out of darkness into your soul. Life is a light shining out of darkness.

All of living goes on in the mind of the soul. Man is a soul and man thinks with his soul. Knowledge is stored in the soul.

Knowledge is your conscience. Your conscience is in your soul. Let your conscience be your guide.

Learn to be constantly aware at your soul level. Make it your awareness level. King David was aware constantly at the level of his soul that God was at his right hand.

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalms 16:8.

One of the great things that man can do is form words and speak them. His body allows him to breathe in air. As he exhales, he makes words with vibrations from his voice box and using his tongue, lips and teeth, he forms the vibrations into words he speaks and that makes known his thoughts. Man was made to speak creative words with inspiration in them.

As a soul, man is a motivator.
As a soul, man is a mover.
As a soul, man is a power to be reckoned with.
As a soul, man is a thinker.
As a soul, man is a generator.
As a soul, man is a creator.

Compatible With God

To make this book work in your life, you must be compatible with God. God only responds to faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him.

The word compatible means “capable of existing together. When people are being compatible, they are willing to say I’m sorry and ask the other one to forgive them when they offend. Because you love them and want to continue your relationship, you do this.

To be compatible with God, you must be willing to surrender your will. It means you must be willing to give God what He wants. It means you want a continual relationship with him.

First, you must have faith in Him. God only works through faith. He wants to be believed.

Second, you must trust Him. His word He will do. Timing is His choice.

Is faithfulness all that is required for Him to do His word in my life?

ANSWER: YES, BECAUSE FAITHFULNESS IS AN ALL-INCLUSIVE WORD. DO ALL YOU KNOW TO DO.

The rules of being compatible with God are written in the Bible. If you ~ear ~is sayings and do them, you are compatible with Him.

If you make a mistake, then confess to Him, and ask for forgiveness. Then you are compatible with God. You are doing what He asks you to do. You are giving God what He wants.

#1. Is this like saying that God only wants vessels that he can move through?

ANSWER: YES. A PERSON MUST SURRENDER HIS WILL TO GOD’S WILL.

#2. How do I become more of a vessel for God in my relationship with Him.

ANSWER: MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR DAY WITH HIM.

Strange Things Happen

Think it not strange. I Peter 4:12

Life has its strange twists and turns. Murphy’s Law says: Whatever can happen will happen at the worst possible time. What do you do when Murphy’s Law kicks in and you can’t do anything? You had your day planned, and then something went wrong. You were stopped. Your Gung Ho spirit is still Gung Ho but nowhere to go. What do you do? You stop and think. Let your mind be like the weatherman’s radar antenna. Let your mind go round and round looking for the blip that shows you something. When you find nothing, you know you are down for the day on your project.

Now you need a PLAN. That’s what this book is all about. Make a plan for what you will do when you can’t do anything. Everyone has times like that.

The wise person does not let this kill his spirit. He takes advantage of his new found time. He begins to get creative with his mind in another area. He tells himself, “I will not let this get to me. I will not let this get me down. God is in control of my life. I will believe God. He has something else He wants me to do.”

The mind can get weary. When it does you need to stop and reflect. Don’t just “do” something. Stand there! When you have done all you can, stand still and let God refresh your mind.

Think about your past victories. Recall to your mind the mercies of God that are fresh every morning. Every night God makes a night deposit of mercy into your account. His mercy is available to you every morning of your life. Think about that! Then make a withdrawal from your account.

This book “IS” your plan. It explains your key to overcoming your time of darkness. It tells you what to do.

Believe God. Let God be true. His word is your plan. All of life begins in the darkness. The world was created in the darkness. Darkness IS a good thing. It causes us to use our mind and think.

God solved the darkness problem and said, “Let there be light.” God is the one who shines light out of darkness. When a need arises go to prayer. God will say, “Let there be light,” and you will see your answer.

Find Your Place

Your mind prepares your soul to act with boldness and courage. Prepare your mind to match your soul. Be swift. Let your soul lead. Don’t hinder it. Turn it loose. Let it soar to view the lofty heights. This is where everything in life has its beginning.

The next time you get a good idea, grab it by writing it down. Your first thought after receiving an exciting idea is to tell yourself, “I can do that or I would never have thought of it”. Once you can see it, you can do it. Action is the key. Be Quick. Fire the bullet.

Next, develop the idea in your mind to match your soul. Think BIG! Then prepare your mind for action. You can do this with the principles found in this book. This book starts with the light of a new idea and ends with the finished product. Your new idea is a light shining out of the darkness. One moment it was hid in the darkness, the next moment a light turned on. This is how God works. He says, “Let there be light.” He knows your potential and lets you see something you can do with His help. God is your partner in everything He shows you.

Your mind is like the cap of a bullet that sets off all the potential in that bullet. When you are rabbit hunting you must shoot fast or the rabbit will be gone. Some ideas are like that. At other times it’s like deer hunting and you have a while to decide when to pull the trigger. But you must learn to pull the trigger of your knowledge when the time is right. Otherwise, you could lose your venture.

At other times your mind is like a spring trap. You need to snap a strong hold on a new idea and not let it go. Your soul needs these “snap the trap,” “pull the trigger” thoughts to set it in action. Be swift to hear or you will miss out on a lot of life’s treasures.

These “pull the trigger”, “snap the trap” thoughts are built into these qualities–Courage, Boldness, Knowledge of God’s word, Trust in God who gave you the idea, and Principles found in God’s word. Be quick to hear, quick to act.

Life Is A Light Shining out of Darkness

You find new life by staring into the darkness.

Every generation must discover for themselves the building blocks of life.

The building blocks of life are thoughts. Thoughts are pictures in the mind. We build our life using these pictures as our plan. Our thought pictures determine the quality of our life. Our thought pictures determine our vocation in life.

There are two kinds of thoughts used to build a life. One has to do with material things. The second has to do with spiritual things.

The first has to do with our vocation. Our vocation changes as knowledge increases so our thought pictures must change with it. Some things we do become obsolete and we lay them aside.

The second kind of thoughts are timeless. They stay the same for every generation. They are the building blocks found in the Bible. These are the true building blocks of life.

Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. Proverbs 23:23

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7

Arise, shine; for they light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1

These thoughts work in every generation.

Understanding The Process

We come into the world with nothing. We have zero knowledge. All that a person will ever know will come from those who have already been here, plus the new knowledge revealed during his lifetime.

If you are sincere about your pursuit for the best in life, you will discover the Bible which is the Book of Life. This becomes your key to knowledge. You will realize that God is the One who shines light out of darkness. He will shine into your heart the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6

You must realize your answer is in the darkness.

Every person must look into the darkness and find the thoughts they need to build their life.

If you will stare into the darkness, when you are talking to God, He will give you light.

But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth
make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Ephesians 5:13-14.

This is a lifelong process. Older people must continue to learn how to live. They must also learn how to die. Learning how to die is not hard when you know Jesus.

This article “The Way God Works” by Albert and Mark Friend is excerpted from their book A Light Shining Out of the Darkness, 2005.