When something good happens, who did it?

When something good happens in my life, I'm often tempted to say: I did it! or: This wouldn't have happened except for what I did... But is that really the case? I mean - can I accept all the praise for good things that happen in my life - even all the good things that I seem to cause in my life? Or should I assign everything to God? Should I say that regardless of what I had done, if God wanted it to happen, it would have happened - regardless of my action (or inaction)?

I love how Isaiah addresses this in verse 26:12 - where he writes: For indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us. In other words, it's a joint effort - us and God! We're working together!

So the way I see it, we can do nothing good on our own - without the help of God. But on the other hand, God uses people to accomplish his good purposes on the earth. Things don't just happen - people do them...

This is great news - that God loves me - and everyone else - enough to use us to do the things he wants. But it's also a challenge, because this means that God expects us to work with him, and to listen to him, and to follow his ways.

I pray that God will continue to give me the strength to follow him.