I was reading through the Psalms
this morning and something struck me very hard. It was Psalm
127:2:
"It is useless for you to work so
hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for
food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones."
This verse was in contrast to what
I have learned in the corporate environment. They were saying
exactly the opposite. They imply that if you don't work hard and
long hours you won't get anywhere. They honor those who stay the
latest and those that come in on weekends as well. Those were the
ones receiving recognition. They honor long hours (no matter how
effective you are, but that is another story). But God is saying
the opposite. He wants us to work hard, yes, He wants us to give
our best, He wants us to excel, in fact He loathes laziness:
Proverbs 18:9 "A lazy person is as
bad as someone who destroys things."
But He wants us to rather put our
trust in Him and not neglect what is truly important in life. We
need to get our priorities right. We need to put God first, then
our spouses, then our children and only then our work. But we tend
to get our priorities all mixed up. We stress so much that we are
not going to 'make it' in this world that we rather put our trust
in the amount of hours we work, the amount of effort we put in,
rather than the Lord. We are so busy anxiously scrambling to get
ahead, that we forget all about the Lord and the good plans He has
for us.
We need to trust God. I love the
explanation in my Bible: "Work while trusting God, and also rest
and spend time with your loved ones while trusting Him." He should
be the centre point, not your work.
Now I am not saying that you should
spend all your time with the Lord and neglect your responsibilities
at work. No, I am saying what Paul is saying in his letter to the
Ephesians:
Ephesians 6:7 "Work with
enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for
people."
Put Him in the centre, He is a good
boss. He will allow you time with your family and with Him and He
will give you the promotion and the job you dream of. Take the
chance and trust in Him. At the end of the day it is only His
opinion that will matter the most.
We are so glad that You are part of
our lives. You are amazing and we trust in You as we know that You
know best. Thank you Lord, be the centre of our lives. In Jesus'
Name. Amen