If wee’re going to live in order to please God we’ve got to take our cues from Him – from the Bible – and not from the culture around us.
Palmer St. Podcast: Living to Please God
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Tag Archives: work
Palmer St. Podcast: Colossians 3:18-4:1
For many, day-to-day life is an area completely separated from beliefs or values that might be called “religious” or “spiritual”. Many now consider it an absolute virtue to “not let their personal faith affect how they do their job.” The Bible makes no such distinction. If Jesus is Lord at all, His influence will be felt in all our relationships and responsibilities.
Putting Provision in Perspective
It’s natural to be concerned about our own needs – and it’s not altogether bad, either. For one thing, it prompts us to go out and work and there’s nothing at all wrong with that.
“The person who labors, labors for himself,
For his hungry mouth drives him on.”
– Proverbs 16:26 (NKJV)
Our need for provision prompts us to pray. That’s what “Give us this day our daily bread” is all about. There we have it, a prayer for provision from the very mouth of Jesus.
Nonetheless, most of us tend to place our need for provision above our need for the Provider – a clear case of improper priorities. Therefore Christ also encourages us with the following:
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” – Matthew 6:31-33 (NKJV)
Seeking first His kingdom – let that be our aim. Let His righteousness be our top priority. Provision has its place in God’s plan, but if we keep it in perspective, it’s the Provider that will always remain in the foreground of our view of life.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
Solomon and Effort
King Solomon was very clearly a man who knew how to get things done. It all started with the temple in Jerusalem. His father David gathered most of the materials, but it was Solomon who oversaw the actual construction. Then there was his own palace, along with more work in and around the city, the building of a powerful military, and his vast commercial enterprise empowered by a fleet of ships. People came from all over just to hear his wisdom or receive his counsel. He might easily have made a fortune as a consultant – well, if he weren’t already a king. A man like Solomon should even have some solid advice for us to help in our endeavors – and he does. We find it in Psalm 127:1-2:
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
– Psalms 127:1-2 (NKJV)
Solomon is not advocating laziness, merely pointing us to the reality that anything we mere mortals do is subject to futility – if the Lord isn’t in it. Take some time this day to ask God’s blessing upon your work. We need His Holy Spirit’s empowering in all our efforts. We need His mercy, His grace and His guidance. With His hand upon you, you will never “labor in vain.”
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)
Central Reflections 