The Fruits of Our Labor

I love how we finish summer by taking a well-deserved break from working to celebrate Labor Day. As my children head back to school, and our routine becomes somewhat normal again, I feel like it’s more of a last hurrah, a final hold on summer that we have to release when Tuesday comes.

For me, September always feels like a new start. Everyone moves up a grade, there is a new routine to figure out, new Bible studies to start, and hopefully some new and cooler weather to enjoy.

I get a little head start with my children starting marching band rehearsals in August, but that just gives me time to get ready for the kickoff of the year.

This year is an exciting one for me. I feel like God is leading me down some incredible paths and opening doors that I didn’t know were even there. There is a lot to do, and I’m really looking forward to all of it.

Of course, as I was getting ready for this year, a quote came across my desk.

“Don’t replace prayer with ministry.” (Cisco Gonzales)

I love getting things done. I love reaching out and making a difference. I love doing God’s work and watching His grace just flow through. I love a completed checklist. Ministry is something that allows me to do all of this and more.

It’s so easy to get it all turned around. The work must flow from the relationship I have with God. It’s pretty easy to see when I have the order right. When prayer and my relationship with God is the foundation of my work, both of them grow abundantly. When it’s the other way around, both of them suffer.

So, today as we celebrate the work that we do, I will encourage you. Don’t forget to let God be a part of it. No matter if it’s a 9-5 job, volunteer ministries after work, or staying at home with children, what you do will be incredibly fruitful if you do.

“As one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 4:10-11