Cultivate a Lifestyle—Working As the Spirit Leads
Since I was small, my dad always prepared a garden, and my dad always afforded us (my siblings and me) the opportunity to work—planting, hoeing, weeding, gathering, and processing the accumulated food. Truthfully, as a child, I never appreciated the food but only noticed the sweaty work tied to the work. Nonetheless, as the sweet ears of corn, juicy tomatoes, crunchy green beans, and satisfying potatoes graced our dinner table (thank you, mom), I found myself so thankful for the good food we were given to eat. Nevertheless, as the sweat began to trickle down my back on the hot August days as we worked in the garden, I could always look up to see my earthly father, my dad, there working alongside me.
As an adult, I wanted our daughter to appreciate the simple process of gardening, so yes, in a sense, I became my dad. I taught her at a young age how to plant the seed, how to hoe, how to tenderly care for the plants. My husband was also blessed with gardening parents, so together we raised our daughter to appreciate the bounty only God can bring.
Now that my dad has already gone home to heaven to be with the Lord, oftentimes, I hear my mom speak these works about dad, “Donnie was so good to work the garden, gather the vegetables, and bring them to the house. I only had to break the beans, shuck the corn, wash the potatoes, and cut the tomatoes. Then we could eat.” The good news was that we ate like kings in the summer, and then when the snow was blowing in the winter, we continued to enjoy the bounty of our summer garden (thank you, mom & dad).
In the Bible, in The Proverbs, we read of the ant, the tiny insect, who diligently works while the season is for working, so that when the season of resting comes, the work has already been completed.
Read with me God’s Holy Word.
“Go to the ant, O sluggard,
(The Proverbs 6: 6-8 NASB)
Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.”
At this point, we probably expect a devotion about the merits of preparation, of diligence, of learning from the creatures (the ant) as only God’s Word can teach, and that is a worthy topic. Nevertheless, that is not where the Lord is leading my thoughts today.
- We are to work with diligence & not be lazy.
- We are to work with purpose & not be a sluggard.
- We are to work & work as if we are working unto the Lord.
- We are to work with preparation, knowing that God gives us seasons for a reason.
& yet,
- We are also to work in a way that is pleasing to our Savior.
In the Scriptures, in The First Letter of Paul to Timothy, we read a letter written from the mentor Paul to the young preacher Timothy. Within the letter, we see the importance of prayer for all man. Then we come to the topic of our lifestyle work. Please read with me God’s Inerrant Word.
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,”
(The First Letter of Paul to Timothy 2: 3-6 NASB)
[Praying—Lifting our Thankfulness to God—Leading a life of quietness and tranquility—Living in a godly manner—All of this is good and pleasing to our Father]
“who desires all men to be saved
and
to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all,
the testimony given at the proper time.”
It is here, in this thought, I find the Lord leading me today. Our Lifestyle.
We might ask: How can we cultivate a Lifestyle—Working As the Spirit Leads—One that is pleasing to God our Savior?
This is easily answered through the Word of God.
We simply see where God is ALREADY WORKING, and we join Him there.
Simple—right!
- We pray, asking the Holy Spirit for spiritual eyes to see where God is at work around us in our careers.
- We pray, asking the Holy Spirit for boldness & courage to see where God is at work pursuing people for His kingdom salvation.
- We pray; We pray; We pray; & We pray!
Then, we get up & go do as the Lord leads us to do.
Then, we get up & work as the diligent ant demonstrates, working while the season is present around us, for the LORD is bringing the harvest.
How in the world can we ever enjoy a time of harvest the LORD produces—if we do not work as Jesus?
It’s simple.
People we know—may remain lost in darkness & may continue to wander apart from God—
- if we are not diligently seeking God on their behalf,
- if we are not testifying about the Lord, &
- if we are just satisfied with our salvation, uncaring about the lostness found within this world.
God’s Will is Simple—Right!
Christian artist Lauren Daigle sings a wonderful melody that sings this truth of God so eloquently. Please pause with me to listen to “Remember.”
God does not want us to live uncaring.
God does not want us to study the Scriptures, to share time with Him, to pray, and then to go into our day—all alone. NO!
God promises to go with us!
God promises to lead us!
God promises!
- Our part is to pursue God’s will for our lives & to look out into the fields that are filled with so many lost ones, individuals wandering in darkness, to see those who have been blinded by the lies of the devil.
- Our part is to see where God is at work (already) & to join Him there.
- Our part is to grab our gardening gloves, our hoes, put on our spiritual shoes & to step into His garden.
Then, as the work comes, as the sweat begins to pour down our bodies, & as our backs might even ache—We are to look up & REMEMBER, OUR FATHER IS RIGHT THERE, IN THIS PLACE, WORKING ALONGSIDE US!
So, in closing, in The Letter of Paul to the Philippians, we see the truth of how—“it is God who is at work in you” (and in me).
Please read with me God’s Blessed Word.
“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed,
(The Letter of Paul to the Philippians 2: 12-16 NASB)
not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who is at work in you,
both to will
and
to work for His good pleasure.
[So us, the children of God, we are to]
Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent,
children of God above reproach
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you appear as lights [as the light of God] in the world,
[May we never hide the light of God below the basket.
AND—
May we always shine the light of God into this world]
holding fast the word of life,
so that in the day of Christ
[just as the apostle Paul writes to God children living in Philippi]
I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.”