Read: 1 Chronicles 28:9-10, 20 & 2 Chronicles 15:7 & Deuteronomy 3:24
Hard work isn't a wildly popular concept. Most of us don’t wake up each morning and think, “I feel like working hard today. I’m going to work hard at making healthy choices, work hard at the office, work hard around the house, work hard to get our finances in order. I just feel like pushing myself beyond my normal performance—pushing through my desire to be an absolute sluggard.”
I don’t usually have that conversation with myself. You? Truth be told, we’re generally a pretty lazy bunch. And that carries over into our relationship with Jesus as well as our relationships with others. We tend to think if a relationship requires work, feels like work, then, it’s not worth the effort. Well, that is flawed thinking. Our relationship with Jesus requires work, and one half of that equation is perfect. So, we should definitely expect our relationship with our spouse to require work. We should definitely expect our relationships with our children to require work.
But, here’s the cool thing: God promises to be with us, to give us strength, to bless our efforts as we seek to honor Him through our hard work. In 1 Chronicles 28, David is commissioning his son, Solomon, to build the temple for the Lord, charging him to “be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you…”
The same is true for us. He will not fail us as we do the hard work He has called us to do in our relationships, so that we might realize and praise Him as Moses did: “Sovereign LORD, You have begun to show to Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works You do?”
