Joy in Work

What kind of work brings you joy. Perhaps, you enjoy working with your hands. Maybe, you are aware creative person who likes to develop beautiful works of art. We find joy in the things that matter to us and the things that we remember brought joy to us in the past.

Isaiah 64:5 says, “You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways.” We can walk in righteousness and do so joyfully, because our God faithfully walks with us and we remember all that He has done for us.

One Righteous Man

You may have heard the Biblical story of Noah. God saw the wickedness of men during Noah’s time and vowed to blot out man from earth. But Noah found favor with God. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and walked with God. So God told Noah to build an ark and save his family. Although the obstacles were great and he was persecuted by many, Noah did all that God commanded him and his family was saved.

Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” One faithful man walked with God and saved his whole family. Faith believes and perseveres while doubt turns back. One faithful person opens the way for God’s blessings upon generations of people.

Father’s Day

Suppose that you have a kind, loving, and supportive father. Now, think about doing everything that you want to do while ignoring your father completely on Father’s Day. How would he feel being ignored on a day meant to honor him? Yet, we do the same thing to our Heavenly Father on many days. We ignore Him and His many gifts given to us day after day.

II Thessalonians 2:16-17 says, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” The world offers us distorted images of fatherhood. God, our Heavenly Father, demonstrates pure fatherhood by giving us His steadfast love, eternal comfort, good hope, and grace.

Moved to Greatness

We all respond to various forms of motivation differently. The football coach tries to motivate his team through power and authority. Mothers often motivate their children through tenderness and encouragement.

II Samuel 22:36 says, “You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great.” Money, fame, nor influence make us great. It is God’s gentle transformation of our lives and His gracious salvation that make us great.

Meaningful Promises

Salespeople and politicians make promises all the time.  However, their promises are often meaningless because their intentions are self-serving. Others may make promises and are unable to deliver due to circumstances beyond their control. We can count on God’s promises because they come from His sincere heart and God’s greatness overcomes all obstacles.

In II Samuel 7:21-22 King David says, “Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” God’s promises come directly from His heart for His people and because of His greatness, He will never fail to deliver on His promises.