March 17

Working Hard

“Well done, good and faithful servant….”

Matthew 25:21a (NKJV)

My white shirt was muddy, grass stains covered my knees; I was wet and bloody and looked like I had just escaped the battle zone. The truth was I had just finished over 10 hours of hard work in my father’s backyard—clipping, weeding, and wrestling with blackberry bushes. I took a deep breath of air as my almost 90-year old dad surveyed my work.

“Good job. This really looks good,” he rasped.

Though exhausted, at that moment, I felt revived. He had just made my day.

Pleasing one’s father brings a very special kind of joy. I thought of this as I drove home that night. It cheered me in a wonderful way when dad praised my yard work. But I couldn’t help but think of the indescribable joy of working all out for God Himself and being treated to His commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant….”

This is good to remember. Sometimes God’s work is hard, but at the same time, God’s work is always worth doing. It’s worth my best effort and it’s worth yours. So, what about your mission? To what work has God called you? Are you working hard? What words will you hear when you come before the Lord?

Lord, give me a mind to work diligently for You. Help me to see my work as significant and having eternal worth. Give me the strength, Lord, to carry on. Amen.