Promise for Today - A Better Approach

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do.
Ephesians 6:7-8 NLT

(Devotional by Pastor Rick) Have you ever been forced to take a job you didn’t really want? Maybe you couldn’t find your dream job or financial needs made you take the job that was available but not the one you wanted. You had to settle for what you thought was best.

This was one of the many setbacks Joseph in the Bible faced—to a much greater degree than we will ever experience. Genesis 37:36 says, “Meanwhile, in Egypt, the traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh—the king of Egypt” (TLB). In a matter of days, Joseph went from being a pampered son in his father's home to being a slave in someone else's home in a foreign country. He was doing work he never expected to do, without having any say in the matter.

You may be in a job right now that you really don't like or don’t want to do, that you wish you didn't have to do. You wish you were doing something else somewhere else. Maybe on your worst days, it even feels like forced labor. It seems like a setback, and you don’t see an end in sight.

If that’s you, then you probably can identify with Joseph and how he felt.

But Joseph made a pretty remarkable decision: Wherever Joseph went and whatever he did, he chose to do the best he could with what he had for God. Even as a slave, away from his home, he served with his whole heart and tried to honor God with good work and good character. Joseph took the work of a slave and gave it meaning. He did this by working for God and not for his human master. He saw God as his boss, and so he gave God his best in his work. And it didn’t go unnoticed: Joseph’s excellent work stood out and led to promotions by his master that eventually landed him in the service of the king [even though he had trials along the way].

Ephesians 6:7-8 says, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do” (NLT).

No one else may notice your efforts, and you may not see your reward until you get to heaven. But your diligent, faithful work in your job will never go unnoticed by the One whose opinion matters most.

Talk It Over

Do you need someone to notice your hard work for it to be worth it to you? Why or why not?

How often do you have to make the decision to work diligently?

In what ways does staying connected to God through Bible study and prayer help you stay focused and diligent at work?

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Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for Your provision in our lives. For those of us who work outside our homes, according to Your Word, let us do all things without grumbling or disputing, that we may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom we will shine as lights in the world, holding fast to Your Word of life.  And let Your favor be upon us, and establish the work of our hands. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Working for More

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Mark 8:36-37 NLT

We are a society consumed by consumer conquests - the biggest TV, the fastest Internet, whatever most G network money can buy, the newest phone, tablet and/or computer and all the applications to go with it - not to mention the car that is compatible with all of it! "Get that overtime, so we can get the ____________."

I am not knocking work. The Bible says if you want to eat, you should work. However, what is your motive? Is it just to get more ‘something’? There's nothing wrong with wanting a comfortable life, but is it at the expense of your relationship with Christ? Do you have less time for your quiet time with God? What about your family relationships? Are they suffering because of the hours you work or the hours they work? How is that making a comfortable life?

Let's get real. He who dies with the most toys, still dies. And when he does, where he spends eternity is determined by his relationship with Jesus Christ. When we are working for more, we just need to be sure we know for more of what.

Prayer:

Father,
Your Word declares itself to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Illuminate our way to see clearly what You would have us do to restore and renew right relationships with You and with those You've entrusted to us. Show us what to let go of and what we need more of. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Working and Working and Working Some More

God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13 NLT

I find great hope in this verse. 

Increasingly, I find I have more of a desire to do what will please God, and I am encouraged to know that He is at work in me to give me the power to do it. At work in me to provide the discipline to override my flesh that just wants to be a couch potato after a long week. At work in me to accomplish and complete those God ideas pulling at my heart and the tasks that are calling my name. 

In John 9:4, Jesus tells us, We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

I know I'm playing catch up from the moments and hours I have wasted in this life. When that night comes, I want to be able to say that I have finished what God assigned to me. I do not want to stand before Almighty God and not be finished. That's why it gives me such great hope to know that God is working in us... working and working and working some more.

Prayer:

Father,
           We want to do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize us. Help us to live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Most of all, Father, we want to finish our assignment and fulfill Your purpose for our lives. Thank You for providing such great hope by working in us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Working and Working and Working Some More

God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13 NLT

I find great hope in this verse. 

Increasingly, I find I have more of a desire to do what will please God, and I am encouraged to know that He is at work in me to give me the power to do it. At work in me to provide the discipline to override my flesh that just wants to be a couch potato after a long week. At work in me to accomplish and complete those God ideas pulling at my heart and the tasks that are calling my name. 

In John 9:4, Jesus tells us, We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

I know I'm playing catch up from the moments and hours I have wasted in this life. When that night comes, I want to be able to say that I have finished what God assigned to me. I do not want to stand before Almighty God and not be finished. That's why it gives me such great hope to know that God is working in us... working and working and working some more.

Prayer:

Father,
           We want to do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize us. Help us to live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Most of all, Father, we want to finish our assignment and fulfill Your purpose for our lives. Thank You for providing such great hope by working in us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen