Why do we work? That's a simple enough question with a simple enough answer. We work to take care of our families. We work to buy a house. We work to take vacations. We work to eat. We work to drive a nice car. The list goes on and on. Last week I wrote about putting God first and that when you do everything else will fall into place. Matthew 6:33.
It amazes me that when the Lord has something to show you, He shows you over and over again. As I was meditating and spending some quiet time with the Lord I was directed to Psalms 127:1-2.
'Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves'.
Society has set up a system such that we must work in order to have what we want. Every week, Monday through Friday, many of us get up in the morning and head off to a job that we don't enjoy and spend more time there then we do at home. There are a few of us that actually work in a job we enjoy but at what expense. We make all kinds of sacrifices for a monetary reward. All the while our families are suffering. Our very well-being is suffering. Yet we continue on with our routine because that is what people do if they want to survive. So why are we still unhappy?
I have often times sat and thought about how my parents made it with so much less than I have and with a much larger family. My dad worked and my mother stayed at home. After all there was not much benefit in her working outside of the the home with seven children to take care of. Her paycheck would have been eaten up by daycare costs. With all that being said I still have very fond childhood memories of family time. We all went to church together. We ate dinner together and most importantly we prayed together as a family. I remember my dad would read from the Bible and then lead off in family prayer and then we would all pray. Times were not perfect but they were good. You see, my father was allowing the Lord to build his house. It was the very foundation on which we stood.
Today we spend countless hours working and participating in outside activities, neglecting our relationship with the Lord. We receive our paycheck and yet we worry about what we will eat, where we will sleep, what we will wear. We watch the news and hear about all sorts of crime and worry about someone invading our home. We worry about what might happen. We are not confident enough to say as David said, 'I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread'. (Psalms 37:25)
My purpose today is not to encourage you to stop working. Working has been a part of life since the beginning of time. Remember Adam in the garden, before he was given a wife he was given a job or caring for all the animals. What I am trying to tell you is that instead of putting all your faith in a nine to five job and giving that job one hundred percent, why not give God one hundred percent and allow Him to manage the rest of your affairs. Build your house on a firm foundation. Stop trying to do everything on your own. Let God be God. The reward will be so much better than that monetary paycheck. You will have rest. For the last week I have been up late studying and have not been getting my regular five hours of sleep. (I've never slept eight hours.) Even though making good grades in these courses is my focus, I choose not to neglect my spiritual life. Because of this the sleep that I do receive is a peaceful sleep. One where I still full completely rested. Right now there are a million other things going on in my life but I do not worry, because God has it all under control. I am standing on His Word. My house is built on a firm foundation. As I read and study His Word and become more like Him I am adding bricks to my foundation. Not sand. Not straw. Take a moment and look at your life. Are you allowing the Lord to set you on a firm foundation? Are you allowing Him to lead, guide and direct you? If you are not then your work is in vain? I don't know about you but I would hate to spend my life working for nothing.
Dear Lord,
I admit that sometimes I am frustrated with the working thing. I work and I work and it seems that I still struggle. I want to be able to provide for my family. Help me to see the importance of putting you first and not neglecting my relationship with you as I go about my daily routine. Help me not to worry. Let me be assured that you will provide rest as my reward. In Jesus' Wonderful Name Amen.
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