Doing the Hard Work
Have you ever been told to do something you did not want to do?
Growing up it was little things like taking out the trash or mowing the lawn. The evidence of whether the task was complete was easily checked by Dad or Mom.
One time I remember being told to clean my room. The problem was that I did not want to spend my time doing that on a beautiful summer day! So, I did what many young boys have done through the years… I shoved everything in my closet! I distinctly remember holding a wall of stuff in place as I slid the door closed. And voila! My room was clean.
Obviously, that was only a short-term fix that made it look like I had done the work. The problem came later when I needed to get something from my closet. And of course, it was buried! I couldn’t avoid cleaning up the avalanche that occurred when I opened the door.
Then there are more difficult things. We are responsible to attend to the things included in God’s command to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b, NIV) like developing our character, overcoming a besetting sin, or loving our enemy.
It’s not simply that we do not want to do these things. It’s the change we resist. Comfort, convenience, busy-ness or any number of other distractions in life can deter us from truly attending to the work God has initiated in us.
Human tendency is to try and hide the evidence of whether we have done the hard work of character development, mending relationships or addressing difficult topics. Many people pretend, cover their tracks or put on a smile. But there is still evidence along the way, even if it is known only to the individual and the all-knowing God of the Universe.
Jesus said, “wisdom is proved right by all her children” (Luke 7:35).
In context, Jesus was saying that it is not the outward behavior of a person that provides the best evidence for evaluating them. Rather, it is what their life produces in the lives of others that is the evidence.
God told the prophet Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to the enemies of Israel. Instead, he ran the opposite way and boarded a ship to Tarshish. When the Lord interrupted his escape by sending a storm at sea, the sailors tossed Jonah overboard.
With three days in the belly of a fish and no cell signal, the only thing Jonah could do was reflect and pray. Jonah 2:8 records him saying, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”
When we go our own way and follow our own desires—even if we appear to be getting what we want in the short term—what might we lose along the way?
Why is it that we believe we have better ideas than the Lord God, Creator of Heaven and Earth? He is the One who made us and knows us intimately. He knows what is best... even when it seems difficult, distasteful or downright dumb in our own thinking.
Our world is not at peace. Many will say that those who think differently are our enemies. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have peace with God (Rom 5:1), and we can have peace of mind as we trust God and think about that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Isaiah 26:3 & Phil 4:8).
Dear Saints, ask the Lord to reveal any worthless idols you may be clinging to. Though the Lord may ask us to do hard things, He does not leave us helpless, but provides everything necessary for life and godliness through our relationship with Jesus (2 Peter 1:3).
At some point, the closet door is going to get opened. Will there be an avalanche in your life?
Don’t cling to that which is worthless and, in so doing, miss the grace God desires to bestow on you.