Photo credit: Free-images.com
Corrie ten Boom’s family used the resources from their watch-repair business in Holland to keep countless Jews safe from the Nazis during WWII. They were eventually arrested for their underground work and for hiding Jews in their home. In her gripping autobiography The Hiding Place, Corrie relates how God’s loving power was evident while they worked and even in the concentration camps. She says, “Every experience God gives us… is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see.”
In the Old Testament, when Solomon was about to begin his reign as king after the death of his father David, God tells Solomon to “Ask something of Me and I will give it to you.” When Solomon asks only for wisdom in leading the people – not riches for himself – God rewards him and gives him not only wisdom but riches and honor also (see 1 Kings 3:4-13).
In our own lives, no matter what work we do, when we work with and for Christ, He’ll give us all we need and more besides.
“Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.” – Psalm 86:4
Imagine our Lord saying to you:
If you were to ask Me only for riches, that’s all you would receive.
If you ask Me for satisfying employment, you’ll receive fulfilling work to occupy your days, self-confidence and pride in a job well done, and enough money to sustain you.
If you were to ask Me for things, that’s all you would have: material things that break, rust, or get used up.
If you ask Me for graces, like wisdom, courage, strength, and patience, then these graces will fulfill your life, bring you happiness and peace, and allow you to work toward acquiring the things you’d like to have. Your happiness and peace are more important, more fulfilling, and more valuable to Me than the things you have.
Look not for riches but for work that you enjoy, that fills your soul with peace.
The gifts you’ve been given were for the purpose of doing work that fulfills you.
Your life is not your job.
Keep Me with you and even the most difficult tasks and the most labor-intensive job will have meaning for you far beyond your paycheck.
Don’t ask for things only for yourself. Ask, rather, for those things that will benefit others. Then you will also be given what you need.
Work with the Lord, and He’ll give you more than you ask for.
“Happy the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God.”
– Psalm 146:5
“Lord, let my work be done with and for You.”
Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2024 Gina Bedell
Comments are always welcome!
Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!
If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly to your inbox, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.
You can also find my posts on Facebook!
P.S.
Pray for peace in Ukraine, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate toward a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.
Hmmm.. I like the reflection. Challenges me in that often I do let my work define me, or who I am is tied up in what I do. I'll have to pray about letting the honor of having work help me to become who God wants; and who God needs in this time/place. My work is not just my paid employment; my life responsibilities of kids/home/neighborhood are also my work, and perhaps I can reflect upon letting God work with /thru me in the every day. Thanks for the challenge.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing! I have just discovered how I can reply to comments on my blog... I hope you've had time for reflection and have gained new insight into how our Lord works through you each day.
Delete