365 Days with God - Day 169: Who is Your Work For?

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 169, June 21, 2014

Readings: Proverbs 15, Proverbs 16, Deuteronomy 20, Amos 4, Matthew 2:13-23

Commit your work to the LORD,
and your plans will be established. (Proverbs 16:3) 

Is your work (not your employment) committed to the LORD? Is everything that you set to task to His? Do you look at whatever work you have before you, and ask if it's serving God?

If it sounds like a challenging task, that's because it is.

But the second portion speaks of something I think we all long for - established plans. Would we not take so much more joy in our work if we could guarantee success? If the doing of the work would always produce results? If we knew our time was not wasted, if we could see the rewards and experience the joy?

When our work is committed to the LORD, we are guaranteed success.

But committed to the LORD doesn't just mean saying, "I'm doing this for God." Nor does it mean to just do whatever it is you do well. No, it means to ensure that the work we set our hands to, the things we spend our time on, need to be committed to God. Because you can be3 sure that He wants you to work with Him. That He has things for you to commit to.

Because we have a finite amount of time. We can't do something without turning down another. And it's so easy to turn down God things for things we want for ourselves. God promises that if we offer all of our time to him, placing every commitment in His hands, evaluating if what we do each day can be focused on Him, He will provide.

Practically, this might look like turning down something fun to do something...less fun. Or, it might mean letting your lawn get long, and your weeds tall, so you can serve others. It might mean evaluating your hobbies...because if all of them involve isolating yourself from others, it's awfully hard to show and share the gospel with someone.

I challenge you to put the things you do before the Almighty God - give Him a chance to show you His plan, His schedule, His passion for your life - and see what comes. I think you might be surprised.