You have a job to do!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, Colossians 3:23


My wife and I have spent the past few days preparing to move our daughter back to college for her sophomore year. I thought year number two would be easier but I have found that I dislike it as much this year as I did on the first. One of my assigned duties for the move was to pick up a trailer at the rental place for us to move furniture. I woke up on the morning I was scheduled to pick up the trailer feeling sick. I have been blessed with a life that has been relatively free from any type of illness. So, on the rare occasions when I have a fever, it totally throws me off. I walked into the office at the rental place and was greeted by a very nice young lady who was working for the day. We talked for a few minutes while she did the paperwork for my rental. I left the office, backed my truck into a parking lot, and found my assigned trailer. My problems began immediately. The trailer I was to pick up was very large and heavy. I realized quickly there was no way to lift the trailer onto my truck other than by using my “brute” strength. So, there I stood, only person in sight, sweating from a fever and the summer heat, with a heavy trailer to lift. I finally was able to lift the trailer onto my truck only to find the hitch on the trailer was broken and would now have to be removed from my truck. The young employee walked out to the parking lot to check on me and I realized she was several months pregnant. I told her about my problem and she walked behind my truck, stood over the trailer hitch, and began to try to lift the trailer. Of course, I stopped her and said, “You are pregnant. I am not going to let you lift this trailer”. She moved away and said, “But I still have a job to do”.

She quickly reminded me that, just because I did not feel well, I still had a job to do for the day. Not only were my wife and daughter depending on me to get a trailer, they were needing me to load that trailer before the next morning. The following days success was dependant on me getting a trailer and loading that trailer. The rest would not happen without me completing my duty for the day regardless of how I felt at the moment or what was working against me. Now, I am still not sure why a young girl needs so much stuff in a college apartment, but that was not my job for the day!

The young lady at the rental place also reminded me that, as a follower of Christ, I still have a job to do. He does not tell us that, while doing His work, we will always feel well, everything will go our way, or there will not be struggles. In fact, He tells us the exact opposite. He knows there will be days when we do not feel well, the daily struggles of life will get in the way, and all will seem against us. But, we still have a job to do and He expects it to be done. He tells us in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. Not only is there a lot of work to do, there are not many workers to do the job. He still needs His work to be done.

Ask Him to give you the strength to continue His work. Regardless of the trials we face, the overwhelming harvest, and the limited amount of workers, there is still plenty of work to be done. I prayed today and asked God to give me the patience, wisdom, and strength to do His work. I also thanked Him for the hundreds of days when I don’t have a fever to deal with and a heavy trailer to lift!

Chad