Daily Devotional for February 5, 2018
The Joy of Work (Part 1)
“I’m outta here!” Micah dunked an old cleaning rag in the trash can and ran into the house.
Calvin looked around at his half of the garage, then at the other half that had been Micah’s responsibility to clean. What a difference! He knew Micah had worked a lot harder than he had. Now Micah was finished and could go to the ball game. Calvin scowled. He hated cleaning the garage!
By the time Calvin finished, the game had been going for an hour. “I’m done!” he called to his mother as he entered the house. “Will you take me to school so I can see the rest of the game?”
“No, Calvin,” Mom said. “You should have been ready when I took Micah. I’m cooking dinner now.”
Calvin sighed. “What are you making?” he asked.
“Lasagna with lemon-garlic potatoes,” Mom replied.
“Yum!” Calvin smiled as he thought about taking a bite of lasagna. “You make better food than anyone I know,” he said. “You must love to cook.”
Mom looked up from the sauce she was stirring and shrugged. “Not really,” she said. “It can be hard, messy work sometimes. But I do it because I want to provide you and Micah and Dad with good, healthy food that you enjoy.”
Calvin was surprised. “I sure wouldn’t do all that work if I didn’t have to!”
“Calvin,” Mom said, “did you know that work is part of God’s loving plan for us?”
“No,” Calvin muttered. “I kind of figured work was more like God’s way of punishing us.”
Mom shook her head. “Work is a good thing. The first thing God did after He created Adam and Eve was give them work to do. It was the curse of sin that made work difficult, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find joy and satisfaction in our work. It’s what God created us to do, and He uses the work of those who love Him—even everyday tasks that don’t seem very important—for His glory.”
“He does?” Calvin smiled. “I guess work isn’t so bad after all.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Mom said as she handed him a bowl. “Because I could really use some help peeling potatoes!” – Agnes Livezey
How about you?
Do you hate work? Do you complain about it or avoid doing it? That’s not the kind of attitude God wants you to have about work. He created us to work, and Christians serve Him in everything they do, even things that seem boring or unimportant. You can find joy and satisfaction in your work if you do it for the Lord and trust Him to use it for His glory.
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