Diligent Work

"The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work."  -Proverbs 12:24

Do you enjoy your job? According to Forbes magazine, 70% of all employees hate their jobs.  That’s a HUGE number!  It seems many of us are in jobs where we either don’t enjoy the work, don’t enjoy the atmosphere, or both. 

I know I have been in jobs before that I didn’t particularly enjoy.  I worked as a server for several years and initially I DREADED the idea.  But you know what’s cool about God?  Even if the job is not our natural bent (I was very shy) or doesn't use our gifts and talents, he can still use that job to shape us and teach us things that we wouldn’t otherwise learn if we were not in that situation. 

Maybe He is developing our prayer life, to pray and interceed for a less-than-ideal workplace.  Perhaps He is testing our hearts with how we respond to tasks we don’t particularly enjoy.  But, even if we are working in a less-than ideal environment, if we work as unto God, we will find eternal reward. 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3: 23 &24

So even if we aren’t in work we particularly enjoy yet, we can know that the work we do has spiritual value in God’s kingdom.  If we carry a mindset of “I am working as unto the Lord today,” we will find that even the most mundane or uncomfortable of tasks can have eternal value.  When we are faithful in the little things, God can promote us to bigger things. 

Are you a diligent worker? 

Solve People's Problems, but Let Them Find the Answer

"I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father except through Me." ~Jesus, John 14:6

When I was a little younger, I needed help with something. At the time, there was only one person who could help me - my dad. My mom thought at the time that since he had the means, he should be the one to solve my problem. It had been extremely hard for me to ask for help, so when I did, I had expected for him to say yes. Instead, I got a different response: He said, "no."
 
I was taken aback by his response. At my time of most dire need, how could my father, who obviously had the means, not be willing to help his only child? I was hurt, let down, isolated and felt so abandoned. I queried, "How could there be no one to help me? God, why is my life this way? Am I not worthy of someone's help, in my time of greatest need?" I cried and cried, and felt pretty pitiful.
 
But then, I realized I could not place my trust in a man, even if the man was my father. I had to place it in God. And He turned up in a greater way then I could have ever thought possible. He had solved my problem, in a much bigger way.
 
Later, dad and I were having dinner, and the topic emerged in conversation. He said, "I knew you would be hurt, but I also knew that if I solved your problem, you wouldn't have found the answer, and grown as a result?
 
That was huge. Much of the time, we expect others to solve our problems. Often, we are let down as a result. But if we realize that the source of all things is our Father in heaven, we can rest assured that our future rests in his hands, and when we place our trust in him and are obedient to His will, he is not going to let us fall.
 
Who or what is your source? Is it in a lifestyle, a boy or girl, a substance, or a mentality? Ask God to show you what is needed to resolve your problems. He has all the answers we will ever need.