My Utmost For His Highest Or Work Ethic

"And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart.  So he prospered'  (2 Chron. 31:21, NKJV). 
"... [F]or they have wholly followed the LORD" (Numbers 32:12, KJV).
"...[F]or the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6, NKJV).
"...I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease...?'" (Neh. 6:3, NKJV).  
"The best use of a life is to invest it in something that will outlast it."  (William James, Psychologist, and Humanist) 

If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing right!  Scripture admonishes us to do our work heartily as unto the Lord and not as people-pleasers (cf. Col. 3:23).  We don't brown-nose our way into God's graces and ingratiate God; we are willing servants, or bond-servants, and do everything in the name of the Lord (i.e., for His glory and according to His will).  Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:31 that whatsoever we do, it should be to the glory of God.

Work is our basic calling in life and it is not a curse, but a blessing and virtue to show us the nature of God at work through us, using us as vessels of honor.  We should enjoy our work for this reason, that it's a gift of God to give fulfillment--but don't let your identity be tied to your job, because jobs don't last, only purposes do!  We can never gain the approbation of God, but are forever in debt (i.e., we cannot pay Him back, because grace is something we don't deserve, cannot earn, and can never repay).  

John 3:27, NLT, says that "God appoints each man's work"--we all have a calling to fulfill and some of us are called into special ministries, but He anoints us for the task at hand.  Work is worship (anytime we offer ourselves to God's service!), and all work is dignified if done in the right spirit.  It's not what you do, according to Mother Teresa, but how much love you put into it!

We all have different gifts and the same Spirit decides which one (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11), not us, and it's for the benefit of the body at large, but we all should have the same Spirit anointing us as we are united in the Lord to do His work--primarily to complete the Great Commission.  God isn't looking for halfhearted followers or lukewarm believers, nor even timid workers who are afraid to "get down and dirty with mankind" or to do the dirty work of serving (remember Jesus and the order of the towel in the Upper Room!).

It was said of Joshua and Caleb that they wholly followed the Lord!  "The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him..." (2 Chronicles 16:9, NLT).  Caleb says upon entering Canaan:  "... For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God..." (cf. Joshua 14:9, NLT).  We need Christians with spunk and gusto, who will hustle for the Lord with all their might!  It was also said of Pete Rose, who was called "Mr. Hustle!"

It is important to realize the gravity of serving the Lord, and we must take it seriously and not do a halfhearted job:  "Cursed are those who refuse to do the LORD's work..." (Jer. 48:10, NLT); "Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD, with slackness..." (Jer. 48:10, ESV).  God hates laziness and we must endeavor to always do our best and not slack off or grow lax in the faith, enduring to the end of the race set before us.  He who is given much; much will be expected of him:  "... Everyone to whom much was given, of him, much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48, ESV).

We are never to play the let's compare game and commend ourselves with ourselves, for we all have different responsibilities and no one is in a position to judge us except our Lord (2 Cor. 10:12, ESV, says, "... But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement.  How ignorant!"

They say that attitude determines altitude and we all have the freedom and ability to choose our attitude toward our work:  either enjoy what you are doing or learn how to in the Spirit; not everyone has the liberty to engage in what they enjoy naturally, but we can find meaning in menial work as Bro. Lawrence, the seventeenth-century, Carmelite monk, endeavored to do and wrote The Practice of the Presence of God to prove this reality and possibility.

To conclude with a verse and word to the wise:  "I replied, 'But my work seems so useless!  I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand; I will trust God for my reward''  (Isaiah 49:4, NLT);   What's more, note:  FAITHFUL SERVANTS NEVER RETIRE FROM THE LORD'S WORK.
Soli Deo Gloria! 

A Great Work

 "... 'I am engaged in a great work so I can't come.  Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?'"  (Nehemiah 6:3, NLT). "... [Yes], establish the work of our hands!"  (Psalm 90:17, ESV). "[Also] that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil--this is God's gift to man"  (Eccl. 3:13, ESV).
"In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty"  (Prov. 14:23, ESV).
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..." (Eccl. 9:10, ESV).
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need"  (Eph. 4:28, ESV).

Do you see yourself as being assigned by God to do a "great work" just like Nehemiah did?  How you interpret your duty as a lot to say about your mission in life.  Do you have a mission statement as an individual?  We may have goals, which may or may not be accomplished, but we need a purpose in life to fulfill what God has called us to do.  Jobs don't last, but missions do!  I'm sure you've heard of the three bricklayers who were asked what they were doing:  One said he was laying bricks; another said he was making so-and-so much, but the one with divine viewpoint said he was building a cathedral.  Do you see yourself as a man on a mission?

St. Francis of Assisi was asked what he would do if he only had one hour to live: he'd finish the row he was gardening!  He knew what God wanted for him and was ready to meet his Maker.  Have you ever heard of Brother Lawrence, who was a monk in a Carmelite monastery in France in the seventeenth century?  He practiced the presence of God all day by keeping the dialogue open in prayer, no matter what his hands were doing, even washing dishes.

Nehemiah was a great motivator, who is chronicled as the man behind the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem in 52 days--a work of God!   He praised the people for their hard and dedicated work, and said, "the people had a mind to work"  (Neh. 4:6).  You could say, as the NLT does, that "they worked with enthusiasm." This is a problem today (even if we retire, we never retire from the Lord's work!), because the lazy are often rewarded equal to the hard-working, and the good-old-Protestant-work ethic is fading and people are not trying to see how much they can produce or contribute, but how much they can get or receive from society.

As a for instance, in 1607 Jamestown, Captain John Smith had a similar dilemma, where the so-called upper classes didn't see fit to work, and he quoted 2 Thess. 3:10, that says, "If a man doesn't want to work, he shall not eat."  We all have a duty to contribute to society, and no one is incapable of it, it is even possible for the disabled to do something, and make their mark on society.

God has blessed us with the pleasure of work, whereby we exhibit the image of God, for even Jesus worked and Adam did before the Fall.  We can find fulfillment in our work but must be careful not to make it our life--we need a work ethic, but we need a life too!   Solomon said that your work and your food and drink are blessings from God and we are meant to enjoy them (cf. Eccl. 3:13).  It seems unfair to work all your life and have your fortune left to others, but you must not see yourself as serving mammon, but God, not building a kingdom, but being in one!

Your purpose will last on after death, no matter who gets the fruits, and the most important thing you can leave is a legacy, not money--something bigger than you because it isn't all about you.  It is more important to have an impact and be somebody that God uses than to be a nobody with riches.  Einstein said that we shouldn't strive to be a success but to be persons of value.  I will mention in passing the wise words of Mother Teresa (now canonized):  "God doesn't call us to success, but to faithfulness."

A good work ethic entails doing our best, as unto the Lord (cf. Col. 3:17, 23) and finding the work God wants for us; for we are all called to and designed for something--don't make your God out to be too small, but bigger than your tasks, seeing divine purpose in everything ("Whatsoever you do...").  We are not called to be workaholics, but to do what God has assigned and to finish that work, just as Jesus said, "I have finished the work thou has given me to do"  (cf. John 17:4).  Some people try to get away with as little as possible and only work for themselves.  Actually, the greater we are, the more people we serve, not how many serve us.  We are to get the servant's heart and orientate ourselves to being God's slave and bond-servant.

It is key to have the mindset of Christ's servant or what Paul said in Romans 15:18 (NIV): "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me...."   (The NKJV says, "For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me....")   In the same vein or framework of mind and viewpoint Isaiah said, "All that we have done, you have accomplished through us"  (cf. Isaiah 26:12).  We are only vessels of honor being used by God and God will reward what He does through us!

In conclusion, let me demonstrate how orientation affects you:  Remember the song:  "I'm working for the man...."  To illustrate:  One athlete said he was a team player; another that he was the best on the team; another that he was on God's team!  Are you God's dishwasher, a member of the union, or only the best dishwasher, as it were?  Be God's man doing His work! We are not just called to pursue a job, but to labor in the name of the Lord, doing His divine work, according to our ability.   We are all laborers harvesting in the Lord's fields.   Soli Deo Gloria!    

Where's The Joy?

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold"  (Job 23:10, NIV).  

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete"  (John 15:11, NIV).  

"He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps"  (Psalm 40:2, NKJV).

If you are a melancholy believer, or one who seems glum, sullen, or dejected, in the pits, in a depressed funk, despondent, or have the doldrums, and don't know how to snap out of it you are a bad advertisement for Christianity, if you're really happy and full of joy, tell your face!  There may be periods of depression when one wallows in self-pity, has a pity party, or withdraws, (even Elijah got depressed), but one must learn how to bounce out of it.  Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4:4 to "rejoice in the Lord always."  " Nehemiah says "... [The] joy of the LORD is your strength." There are some key elements to finding joy amidst the hard times--and He does make us experience hardship:  "You have fed them of the bowl of tears, You have given them tears to drink in great measure"  (Psalm 80:5, NKJV).

This is to develop our character to mold it after Christ's image, which cannot mature without adversity, hardship, discipline, trials, and even temptation--but remember Christ was honest enough to warn us and they are inevitable as a "coming of age" spiritually.  Christ didn't exempt Himself from trouble, and our "crosses" pale in comparison to His.   If you don't know why you are suffering or you think you don't deserve it, be like Job and throw a spiritual fit and cry out to God with your case and complaint.  It's okay to throw a spiritual temper tantrum or fit! Some people are just more vulnerable to getting the blues or even depression, but this doesn't need to define who you are.

There is a methodology or method to the madness, for rebounding from depression, when it is time to seek the Lord and His presence--there is a time and season for every purpose under the sun.  God is in the business of sharing His joy!  When we sin and grieve the Spirit it can show and spread like wildfire.   Every believer has been called to do God's work and if he knows his calling, he can find joy in doing the Lord's will and in being in the Lord's will. There's always joy in doing God's work with a smile and finding fulfillment in that.  When you live for something bigger than yourself you will have a different perspective on life.  Real living begins when we commence serving others and get our eyes off ourselves.  We shouldn't just exist, but live!  Work for something in life that will outlast it.  If you know how God uses you and what your spiritual gift is, you are on the way to finding joy in the Lord and knowing how to spread it as a messenger of the good news with a positive testimony.

When we are in a depressed funk, or "downcast" as Psalm 42 and 43 call it, God seems to be MIA and we need to seek the face of God. We are to seek the Lord and His face or presence.  The whole business of the Christian life is to seek God, not just when we feel down.  Even Job wondered about the whereabouts of God: "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him"  (cf. Job 23:3).  God is never far from each one of us according to Acts 17:27.  He may be no further than the mention of His name! Did He not promise:  "... Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20, ESV). Remember that where ever two or three are gathered together in His name, that Jesus promises to be among them (cf. Matt. 18:20).  The Holy Spirit dwells in us to be our Comforter and Enabler to live in His power and to overcome trials and the enemy.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who seeks His lost sheep and brings them to green pastures and to give them rest.

It is a joy to see God at work in others and to share in the blessings by association.  This is an encouragement for us to do the Lord's will and to be profitably engaged in spreading the Word. There is vicarious joy, just like parents relive their childhoods through their children. Remember, we are all on the same team and we must know the real enemy, the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7).  We learn to "rejoice with those who rejoice" (cf. Romans 12:15).

We really must learn to find joy despite our circumstances and to be strong in our faith, for the Lord must test our faith:  "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10, ESV).   God wants to see if it is genuine and will stand the test of time, and isn't a facade, sham, or masquerade--only sincere, even if imperfect, faith will do.  Learn to rise to the occasion and above your circumstances:  Experience is not what happens to you, but what happens in you! Paul was in prison and rejoiced in the Lord with such testimony with Silas that the jailer got converted in Acts 16.

Joy is contagious and a great testimony, and that is more motive to seek it to be a light and river of life to others, who need to be encouraged.  This is so that we acknowledge joy in the Lord, not in circumstances, which can change.  Joy is something on the inside that is not dependent on happenings like happiness is.  Paul learned to be content in whatever situation he found himself in (cf. Philippians 4:13).

When you know God is with you, everything becomes bearable and that is one of Christ's names:  "God with us." Also, it is written in Isaiah 43:2 (ESV):  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you ...."   We are to seek the Lord and His presence "as a deer pants for flowing water, so my soul pants for [God]" (Psalm 42:1, ESV).  Mother Teresa of Calcutta, now canonized, says that "true holiness consists of doing God's will with a smile." That is, if we are happy, we should tell our faces!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Father-filtered Tragedy

"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
"Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you enter various trials"  (James 1:2).


DISCLAIMER:  I DO NOT CLAIM TO HAVE A COMPLETE ANSWER TO MAN'S SUFFERING, IN FACT, NO ONE, NOR ANY RELIGION, DOES.

Good quotes:
Lord Reith said, "I do not like crises, but I do like the opportunities they provide."
"Within every adversity there lies a possibility" (Robert Schuller).

Jesus never said we'd be exempt from evil or tragedy in our lives; he didn't exempt himself, did He?
Suffering, trials, temptations, adversity, and discipline inevitably comes to all believers in Christ as part of our pruning and maturing process.  What good would an untried faith be?  Some people get mad at God and blame Him when something bad happens:  remember Job's wife who told him to "curse God and die" after losing all ten of his progeny.  "Should we accept good from God, and not trouble."  Nothing happens to us without God's sovereign permission; he is just using the devil as the instrumental means to accomplish his greater glory.  We can be assured that God will not bring into our lives anything that we cannot handle; he just trusts some more than others!

What happens to us reveals what kind of person we really are; the same sun melts the butter, hardens the clay!  It's not so much about what happens to you as to what happens in you.  Our experience is a combo of this interaction and what we learned in the so-called school of hard knocks.  Notice that we hear about tragedy around the world and never people cursing God on the media--they are usually humbled and realize that without danger there would be no courage.  We shouldn't say, "How can God be so mean?"  "No one can  stay His hand or say to Him, 'What are you doing?'"

Our reaction says more about us than about God.  You either become bitter or better in the tragedy they call life or Reality 101. It's not what happens to you, but in you!   Don't you want to find out what you are made of and more importantly, who your friends are?  Charlie Riggs says that adversity builds character and Christlikeness.  Our crosses to bear are nothing compared to His!  We are compared to silver refined in a crucible.  If we know the why of our suffering we can endure almost any how, said Viktor Frankl, the Viennese Psychiatrist captured and tortured by the Nazis.

So why do bad things happen to good (There are no good people!) people [A more appropriate question would be:  Why do good things happen to bad people?]?  Good also happens to bad people! Who's to say how much is too much or decide what is fair; God is the judge of what is fair, and He is our judge, and we not His.   "The He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold," says Job 23:10.  God never promised us a bed or roses or a rose garden either.  However, we can rest assured of the promise:  "All things work together for good, to them that love God...."  As the crucifixion proved, God is able to make the most diabolical of events turn out for the good (e.g., Acts 2:23; 4:28).

It might be helpful to realize that if you are suffering it might be so that others won't have to, and if you aren't, it's because others have!  "We rejoice in our suffering..." (Rom. 5:3).  I like Philippians 1:29 to sum things up:  "For it has been granted unto you, not only to believe in Him, but to suffer for His sake."

Pertinent are two verses relating to God as the sole primary cause of the cosmos and using agents to accomplish His will in a voluntary manner:  Amos 3:6; Isaiah 45:7, and if one studies Job he will realize that evil from Satan must get permission from the Father--N.B. that God didn't answer Job's questions, but revealed Himself to him to humble him; God doesn't have to answer to man.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Appreciating Humility

Humility is something we appreciate in the other guy, just like the virtue of patience. It is not low self-esteem; nor thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. But as soon as you think you are humble you are not! Phil. 2:5 says, "Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus [who humbled himself]." Isaac Watts penned a famous hymn, "When I survey the wondrous cross/On which the Prince of glory died/My richest gain I count as loss/And pour contempt on all my pride."

God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble according to 1 Pet. 5:5 and James 4:6. Isaiah 66:2 says that God will look at the one who is humble. Yes, pride is spiritual B.O. and we must stop making ourselves the center of our universe. John the Baptist said it succinctly, "He must increase, I must decrease." It's ironic that we do appreciate humility in the other guy!   Soli Deo Gloria!