Work At It With All Your Heart

From the Holy Grind Devotional Series

Today, I’m sharing devotion number 2 in the Holy Grind Devotional Series: Work At It With All Your Heart.

In this devotion, I share the importance of working with excellence not for human masters, but for Christ.

Work At It With All Your Heart S4 E2

Focus verse

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

Devotion

One thing that distinguishes us as Christians  is that in our work, we serve Jesus. When we wash the dishes, we serve the Lord. When we change nappies (diapers to my American friends!) we serve the Lord. When we clean the toilet, we serve the Lord.

These Bible verses actually point out that because we are serving Jesus, we are to work with all our hearts. I don’t know if this is true of you, but even though I work with all my heart in some areas—for instance, my writing business—sometimes I feel less than enthusiastic about cleaning the floor after my kids have left a trail of crumbs (again!).

And sometimes I complain when I have yet another load of laundry to do. If I’m not careful, I can easily fall into the trap of seeing the housework as a mundane activity. It doesn’t help that my children don’t thank me for my cleaning efforts! But thanks, or no thanks, God desires me to work with all my heart and find contentment and joy in my work, no matter how mundane. In these verses, I am reminded that the Lord Jesus Christ is my master, and it is Him who I serve. Not only that, but the Lord sees me, and He does not take my work for granted. In fact, I am promised an inheritance from Him as a reward. How amazing is that! 

Questions for reflection

• Which work do you sometimes feel tempted to complain about (even if just in your mind)?
• How does knowing that you are serving the Lord help motivate you?

Prayer

Lord, that you would help us to work for You and serve You. Help us not to listen to the lies of the enemy telling us that we shouldn’t work, we shouldn’t serve others, or that we deserve better, or whatever lies he wants to tell us to stop us from serving You.

We pray we would reject those lies and believe Your truth, stand on Your word, and be transformed by You every day. I just pray that You would help us through Your Holy Spirit to follow You and to serve our families well, serve our children well, but ultimately do all things to serve you, Lord. Amen.