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By Diana Rose (WITHIN Devotional Contributor)
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” -Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily” What do you do? Do you work eight hours a day, commuting to a workplace several miles away? Do you work remotely, or is it your job to maintain your home? Do you provide care for others or are you raising children? Are you a full time student? Perhaps you are retired or disabled. Whatever your status or stage of life is, you are called to “work heartily.” Without taking time to look up the meaning in the original language of the word heartily, understanding it in English gives me sufficient insight to the command of this text. A quick Siri search shows a definition of heartily as being vigorous and cheerful. For some working vigorously is easier than working cheerfully and for others the reverse is true. Nevertheless this is the state of mind and the level of energy we are called to employ as we go about the doing of our daily work. “as for the Lord and not for men” This portion of the text turns the focus of our work towards God. We are to approach work as if we are employed by the Lord himself, which the verse will draw out more clearly later. Am I working to give God glory, or am I working to impress man or because I fear man? Does my work reflect the character of God? Do I exhibit my dependency on him for the endurance I require to work hard, as well as for the humility of heart I will need to work cheerfully, especially when working for a difficult boss or in a challenging situation? As I do my work I am to keep my eyes on God and off of man, including myself. “Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward” Did you pick up on that? “From the Lord.” I am amazed at this. It is the Lord who gives the work to do, and he gives the ability and energy to accomplish it, and he gives the reward! If you are in Christ the Lord himself is your inheritance and reward. But the Lord gives grace upon grace, there will also be the reward of the labor we do in this life in his name. The reward of serving the body, the reward of proclaiming Christ to the nations, the reward of fighting the fight of faith. The reward of glorification! “you are serving the Lord Christ” Yes and amen! This is the glory of this entire verse! If you are in Christ then your entire life is an act of service to him! When you are doing the dishes you are serving the Lord Christ. When you prepare that meal you are serving the Lord Christ. When you do your homework you are serving the Lord Christ. When you wash the car you are serving the Lord Christ. When you care for the sick, broken and needy you are serving the Lord Christ. When you submit to your spouse you are serving the Lord Christ. When you listen to someone’s story you are serving the Lord Christ. When you encourage the downhearted you are serving the Lord Christ. When you sing out praises to his name you are serving the Lord Christ. If you are his you are in his service! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. Passages to read/memorize/meditate:Read Colossians 3 Questions to Reflect on:
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By Anna McAllister (WITHIN Devotional Contributor)
I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep. The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all harm; he will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever. Psalm 121 (CSB) Recently I have been reading Eugene Peterson’s book “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.” It walks believers through the Songs of Ascents (Psalm 120-134) sung by faithful Hebrews 3 times a year as they make the journey to Jerusalem for worship - to commemorate and refresh their memories of God’s provision of salvation and preservation. Peterson offers much practical encouragement for growth in obedience, joy, worship, and community to name a few all while taking readers on a journey through this songbook. Psalm 121 convicted me with a contextual note. At the time this psalm would have been written there would have been a lot of pagan worship going on in the hilltops. So verses 1-2 in Psalm 121 caught me this go round reading through “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Why this verse? Well, as Peterson describes it - I find myself practicing “patent - medicine religion.” I know God “created the universe and accomplished our eternal salvation. But [I sometimes struggle to] believe that he condescends to watch [my] soap opera of daily trials and tribulations.” And so I buy my own solutions or remedies for those things. My own remedies are much like those pagan gods, no help. So as I meditated on Psalm 121 I wrote down the following truths in my journal to speak to this lie that God is not always present: Yahweh preserves and protects us His presence is personal - it is not reserved for the big things only. He accompanies us through the trials and troubles of each day. He guards us from every evil. Not only did He create the universe and establish your eternal salvation, but He rules in your heart by His Spirit to accompany you day to day; to move you from one glory to the next (2 Cor 3:18). He is not just there at repentance and glorification- He is the driving force compelling us to the finish line and we journey through being progressively sanctified! He is the author of the program prescribed in Hebrews - to keep our eyes on the only way, the truth and the life - Christ Jesus! He is the promise keeper to our archetypal pilgrim Abraham who was “sent out,” by Yahweh to be made into a blessed people who would ascend to remember where their help comes from; a people who would ascend to remember God’s saving ways. The maker of heaven and earth ascends with us daily. He walks with us and to ask Him for help with our daily troubles, seeking Him as our all in all, is precisely what we are instructed to do by Christ when He teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” But don’t forget - the prayer begins with the request for God to “hallow” his name. He will get the glory! So this truth we can hold assured : His presence and protection is provision from here to glory and in the in between. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. Passages to read/memorize/meditate:Proverbs 3:5-6 Psalm 33:20 Psalm 56:3 Hebrews 11; 12:1-3 Hebrews 13:5 Romans 8 2 Corinthians 3:18 Questions to Reflect on:
By Meron Asnake (WITHIN Devotional Contributor)
Life has its way of happening to all of us, and I experienced just that when I lost one of my family members. A couple of weeks ago, my family and I buried a great man, whom I saw as an uncle. He left a void in our hearts especially in his wife’s and 5 adult children’s. What a surreal reality our mortality awakens when we suddenly learn that we have reduced in number. Time and distance have done their jobs in teaching us this hard lesson. It has been 6 years since we all saw each other at the same time, and it took this tragedy to call us in one room. It pained us to see each other mourn our loss and bear the gravity of bereavement. The day of the funeral, we gathered around my uncle’s casket in the memorial garden saying our goodbyes. I stood there numb, unable to process what was happening. Right in front of me, sat my cousin, who began to reach out his hand to touch the top of the casket his father laid in. He rubbed the head of the coffin as if he were lovingly tapping on his dad’s shoulders in reassurance. It seemed as if he was extending — both for himself and his dad — a courage to let go before they lowered him into the ground. His pain spoke volumes and resurrected the grief that I never knew I buried for the past 23+ years. I found myself mourning my own father, who I never got a chance to know long and well. I feel cheated of life experiences that an average daughter with an earthly father had, is having, and will have. Phew...I know. I know this one is heavy. However, it is my hope to encourage all of us that might be dealing with grief and all its side effects that manifest themselves in varied voids. My experience can be unique to me, but I do not believe it is new to mankind— for Ecclesiastes 1:9 assures me. What has been what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. The truth of the matter is I feel unequipped and unprepared to handle unannounced grief. I have yet to unpack all the pain and hurt I have masked over the years; most importantly, I have yet to mourn the loss of my dad. My hope for this devotional is for it to serve as an alarm for our spiritual walks. To give us an opportunity to do an inventory about our pains and hurts that mask themselves in the spirit of isolation, loneliness, and even strength. For us not to be the strong friend, the resourceful one, the connected one, the educated one, the reliable one, and so much more. We pride ourselves in being these things for others, so these social graces will hide the reality within. I pray it is time for us to recognize His grace that is our strength (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). As we uncover our hurts and mourn our losses, I pray we feel the Lord’s closeness to our broken hearts, who saves our crushed spirits (Psalm 34:18). Beloved, I am praying for us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. Passages to read/memorize/meditate:Psalm 34:18 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 1 Peter 5:7 Matthew 11: 28-29 Questions to Reflect on:
By Yodit Kifle Smith
Encouraging one another is God’s idea. It’s good for our flourishing. Countless times in Scripture, we are admonished to encourage and edify each other because God’s love is beautifully seen through the encouragement we give one another. But can I just say, God never gives us something edifying to our faith without making sure we first rely on HIM as the source of it before receiving it from others. I’ve personally seen the vicious cycle in my own mental and spiritual health when I’ve been the one encouraging but not receiving the encouragement. I’ve seen how draining it becomes when you’re only counting on people to give it to you. And the truth is we don’t always encourage others the way we are supposed to. We fall short of doing it or we willingly withhold it. Through it all, God has shown me how I had subtly made an idol of encouragement in my life. He showed me how much it consumed me when I felt like I wasn’t receiving it. Or how highly I thought of myself for being the one who didn’t withhold it. And one thing about good things becoming “idols” is if it keeps us from worshipping God rightly, then we’ve lost focus of whose encouragement really matters. This isn’t to discourage encouragement. By all means, please do the work of God in encouraging one another. It keeps us from being hardened by sin (Hebrews 3:13). It keeps us enduring in the faith (1 Thessalonians 5:11). It keeps us reminded of God’s goodness (Colossians 3:16). It upholds us in our moments of suffering and trials (Colossians 2:2). It's clear that Scripture shows us the great purposes that encouragement serves in our life. But for the one who is waiting for encouragement to feel significant, please KNOW and TRUST His delight of you as His child, right where you are. May His nearness be tangible in your weariness. May His Word revive your heart to the truth that He sees you, even if others don’t. May His Spirit empower you to keep going. And ultimately, may we make it a habit to encourage ourselves in the Lord our God just as David did (1 Samuel 30:6). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. Passages to read/memorize/meditate: 1 Samuel 30:6 1Thessalonians 5:11 Hebrews 10:23 1 Peter 4:8 Ephesians 4:29 Proverbs 12:25 Colossians 3:16 Colossians 2:2 Romans 14:19 Questions to Reflect on:
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