Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the master you are serving is Christ. - Colossians 3:23-24
The people in Liberia have many problems. But when they come to an impasse, they simply smile a marvelous Liberian smile, shrug their shoulders, and say, “What to do?”
Coming from a culture that tends to believe that people can do anything they want to do if they try hard enough, we may think that this sounds like a weak excuse. However, simple acceptance of the situation may be the first step to the realism required to live amidst trying circumstances without falling apart.
Christians should be willing to wait upon the Lord until we are told what to do—and herein lies our rest. In acceptance we find peace. Once instructed, however, we must “work hard and cheerfully.” Enthusiastic “doing” delights the heart of God! Our daily “doing” must not be for our earthly honor or success either. We must not “do” for people so that people will “do” for us! Instead, we must “do” for people as though we are “doing” for God.
My mother-in-law was a great example of this text. Whenever she cleaned a pair of shoes, they shined as if Christ were going to wear them; whenever she cooked a meal, she cooked it as if Christ were joining us for dinner. And she was satisfied to receive her “reward” from him!
Dear Lord—when I know not “what to do,”
still me.
When you’ve shown me “what to do,”
fill me,
That I may “do” your will with all my might!
For Further Study: Colossians 3:1-25
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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