Through the whole creation story in Genesis 1, until the 7th day, God worked. He created, he fashioned, he molded and breathed life into what he made. At the end of the first 6 days, God rested. But he DID work. And then…Genesis 2 goes into depth about the creation of, well, us…man. Verse 7 of chapter 2 says, “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” How sweet that God himself put breath in our lungs! But he didn’t finish there. He then made all the trees and planted a garden, Eden, for man to dwell in and “work it and keep it (vs. 15)”.
Work is Biblical. It is something that God created us to do but many times I believe we use work to get ahead, be a copout for other things we could be doing for the Kingdom, view it as an everyday task we have to check off our list, or on the contrary, we don’t do it at all. Neither side of the spectrum is good…nor pleasing to God. Our work, and us working, matters to God because that is part of what he created us for. Before the fall of man, I imagine that Adam and Eve worked the land and cared for the plants and animals and they did it ALL for the glory of God. This is what God intends for all his children.
This past Sunday morning my pastor spoke about work and what work, as believers, should look like in our lives. First of all, we should do it. We shouldn’t be sitting idle not working but we should be working for GOD’S glory alone. I believe that work can be done in an array of different ways from a career job, projects, school, missions, and more…BUT, if this work isn’t done for the GLORY OF GOD and with HIS KINGDOM in mind, they are pointless in eternity. Everything we do should be done in a way that it is an act of worship to God. So when you work, are you focused on the mundane of here and now or are you focused on the long term, eternal and God honoring goal? I pray that we as believers are constantly challenged to do our work well, to the best of our abilities, with honesty, love and generosity, and with the intent to worship God and be a witness to those around us.
Going on the World Race isn’t going to be all fun and relaxation, it will be work. I pray that I do this work all for God’s glory and as an act of worship to him who put breath in my lungs and created me to work with the intent of bringing glory to his name and spreading his truth among the nations. I ask that you continue to pray for me as I go and work for the LORD in these 11 countries, as I too will be keeping you in my prayers. My desire is that you and I learn to work with a joyful heart and know that our work, whatever it may be, is not for us, but for HIM—the giver of life and breath; the one who deserves all our worship and all glory.
Blessings,
Meg
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
