Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to Him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.
— Psalm 128: 1-2
For various reasons, it has been quiet a while since Kathy and I have written anything. We have been in a season of listening and waiting – and we honestly have to say we haven’t really enjoyed it. We both know that we have a calling on our lives and we are not very patient.
I’m off today – nothing to do with the holiday; Mondays are part of my “weekend”, so I’m always off from work. And Kathy is working today so it’s not really a holiday for us. I started my job a little over a year ago. Now mind you, I enjoy getting a paycheck but it’s been a while since I could really say that I enjoy my work. I believe I’m good at it, I’m respected by my peers and appreciated by my superiors but it’s not what I want to be or feel I am called to be doing. So how does that fit in with the Scripture verse? How does that fit it with not writing for three months?
We have been struggling to see where we “fit” in God’s plan. Part of the problem, is that Kathy and I like to try to tell God what we should be doing (that’s my problem) and are not very good about letting God tell us what His plans for us are. So we are waiting, and waiting. And waiting some more. Until we realize that we can’t do anything without God. And His ways are so much better than ours. It took awhile before either of us even felt like writing again. But know it’s time to take step forward again. We still don’t know where we are headed in the long term but we do know for sure that God is leading the way. Some prayers and share words over the last two months have really spoken, to me at least, about where and how we spend this time until God’s plans for us come to full fruition.
Kathy and I have long understood that we are “seed planters’ – we don’t necessarily get to see the end results of what God has us start. But the verses from Psalm 128 tell us that if we walk in obedience and in the awe (fear) of God, we will eat the fruits of our labor, be blessed, and prosperous. I don’t take that to mean we’ll be financially rich (though I’m not counting that out either). There are so many ways to be prosperous – I believe we will see our works multiplied beyond what the two of us can accomplish. God will see to it that we will eat of the fruit of our labors – physical and spiritual. And I can think of no better way than to be blessed by doing God’s will.
I’ve taken a different attitude to my work in the past few weeks – I may not “enjoy” it but I approach it with joy. It is my goal to make someone’s day better by my interaction with them – not always easy but I’m already reaping the blessing.
So on this Labor Day, may you find your place in being obedient to God and reap the blessings of your labors. May your work provide you the opportunity bless someone as well as be blessed.
Be well,
Steve