Dreading your daily work. Well, Lord, I am going to try to sneak up on it, on this outlining I am dreading, sort of get into it before I have time to think about. So let’s do a short devotional time first thing this morning and a longer one later. I’ll just sit here with You, watching the sun coming up over the rooftops, just being with You, trying to cast this care upon You and leave it there because I know You care mightily about me and everything I do (I Peter 5:7). 

And, I do recall Proverbs 16:3, where You say:

Roll your works upon the Lord
[commit and trust them wholly to Him]
He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and]
so shall your plans be established and succeed.” (AMPC)Father, I do roll this writing thing all upon You and I trust You to do what Your Word says. Amen.

Divine little reminders. I stood up, walked over to the desk area and the big pad of paper on which I had outlined Chapter Four. By chance (ha!—see Ruth 2:3-4), I happened to glance at the little card taped to the top of the hutch cubby. Creased in half, with the edges partly rubbed off from having been carried inside my billfold for years, the front of the card was a picture of a glorious sunset over ocean, with Romans 11:36 at the bottom: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever!” (NIV)

“Soli Deo gloria.” Tears came, those tender tears that always come when we are deeply aware that God is saying something to us.

“Thank You, Father,” I murmured. Four times in the past few days I had read of people who used this motto specifically to dedicate their work to God: authors Jan Karon and Tracie Peterson and composers George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach.

“Soli Deo gloria is the motto that grew out of the Protestant Reformation and was used on every composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. He affixed the initials SDG at the bottom of each manuscript to communicate the idea that it is God and God alone who is to receive the glory for the wonders of His work of creation and of redemption.” What Does “Soli Deo Gloria” Mean? (ligonier.org)

I finally heard what God was saying.   As I paused and just rested with God, I finally understood what I think God was saying to me through circumstances. I think God was reminding me that I had dedicated my life and my work to God and that I am doing all I can for Him, the best I can, so I can know that He IS indeed leading my steps. Furthermore, far from condemning my weaknesses, such as a tendency to dread hard things and to fret, God feels great compassion toward me and He will help me with my specific weaknesses , just as a father watches and knows just when his toddler needs to be picked up and carried.

Dear Father, I choose to believe and fix my thoughts on the truth that You are leading each step of my life, and that includes my work for You. I know You are in control of that as much as anything else in the world. And I know You will accomplish Your purposes in my life and my work for you as I simply do my little part and walk holy before You, with my whole heart.  And I know this applies to each minute and each aspect of my life, not only our writing.

What about your work and your life? Some of us can point to a specific task that is our work for God. For some seasons of life, however, our main work for God is more dispersed, like being a stay-at-home mom, working to support your family, or caring for a sick loved one.

Regardless, all of us have some specific gift we are to exercise.  And all of us are commanded to live our life for God, to be a living sacrifice for Him. That is the real day’s work for all of us. In Romans 12:1 Paul tells us: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (NIV).  And in Colossians 3;17 we hear “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

You can, this very day, live for God, whether the main work in your life is in an office, a factory, a home with children, a church, a rock mine, or living your life for God while residing in a retirement community. You can do the same even if you are in a season where you must rest and get well, or where everything is happening too fast. You can purposefully choose to give this day to God. You can choose to live it for Him and for His glory.

“The trouble with life is that it is so daily.” (Chuck Swindoll) I must remind myself often that the everyday tasks of daily life—making breakfast, fetching home the groceries, housecleaning, paying bills, getting the car repaired—are as much a part of my life for God as when I am privileged to be seated at my desk writing. I must remember that God cares about the minutes and hours of the activities of my daily living as much as when I am doing something specifically for Him.

For that reason, I periodically reread the small book “The Practice of the Presence of God”. Written by Brother Lawrence, this short volume shows us how to be aware of God’s loving presence during all the hours of daily life, simply by turning to God with a humble, thankful heart.

“You can do it!!!” As I turned toward my desk with refreshed determination and confidence, I saw the Leggo cat note holder one of my grandsons had made me for Christmas. On it he had written “you can do it!!!”  Notice the three exclamation marks. When I opened his gift Christmas morning, I knew it would be one of the things that has a permanent place on my desk.

This precious gift is, I firmly believe, another Divine “happenstance.”  My frail heart needs encouragement constantly and my heavenly Father knows that. So, God moves me to meditate on the numberless verses in the Word that strengthen the weak heart, He sends encouragement every day, and He sends courage through little pats on the head, like seeing that worn-out card and Ansel’s note holder today. God reminds me, and you, that, in His strength – you can do it!!!

Father, I ask that You send special tokens of encouragement to Your children today, in whatever way touches each one most deeply. Let someone they thought takes them for granted say thank you in a notable way. Let them see their favorite bird as they walk in to the office one more time or, one more time, start on a messy house. Let the flaming crimson and gold of a sunset warm their heart. Let a sense of well-being blanket them as they sit down for their evening meal.

Although we live by faith, not feelings, bless them this day with the awareness that You are right there with them, that Your love for them is higher than the heavens are above this beautiful earth. Let them know that You take delight in their love for You, that You sing over them, that You have written their name on the palms of Your hands. Make Your face shine upon them and give them Your peace that is more than we can understand.  Let them know that You are with them when they are with You.

Open their eyes, Father, and let them see signs of Your love and Your specific encouragement for them. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen!

The message on the back of that card was:

Everything comes from God. He designed it, He created it, and He sustains it. There’s nothing that’s beyond His imagination. And He wants to pass that optimism on to us. When He gives us a job to do, He wants us to know that it’s not too big for us. He’ll enable us to do whatever He asks us to do. We can serve Him with confidence, knowing that He chose to put us into this situation because He knew that – with His strength – we could do it.

Friend, in God’s strength, you and I can do it!!!  If you have given your heart to Him, the same One Who tells the oceans where to stop is busying Himself with the details of your life. And He really, really loves you.