To penetrate further into the nature of the mitzvah, let us admit that any act is also a creative gesture.
Something new is added to the world.
On the other hand, it is not the mitzvah or act that creates but the fact that God is prepared, in a certain way, to let His light flow along the channel that was prepared by this act.
The act is nothing in itself; it is only a means for giving external expression to God's Bounty.
It is like a network of irrigation pipes that depend entirely on a central valve.
Opening or closing the valve makes all the difference, creates the reality.
A postal box is meaningless without the transfer of letters.
The connection with true purpose is what counts.
This is the task of mitzvot in life: to serve as a connection, enabling the general and private forces of existence to flow in the right direction.
In this manner, it is a gift from on high.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From The Candle of God by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz