Lessons from the Man after God's Own Heart - Work with Purpose (Part 1)
“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with WHOLEHEARTED DEVOTION and with a WILLING MIND, for the Lord searches every heart & understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”
– King David, 1 Chronicles 28:9
In our work and our service, what must our attitude be like? According to the verse, it says to do the following:
(1) Acknowledge God. Know that directly or indirectly, He is the one we are serving and ultimately, in whatever we do, the results will reflect what kind of work we have done and for whom it was done.
If it was for our selfishness, it will be revealed.
If it was for God & for giving honor and glory to His name, it will also be evident.
So how can you tell? The results of your work, if done for the Lord will have no sorrow, no regrets but only pure joy, contentment, and satisfaction. Simply put, it will have long term effects.
(2) Wholehearted Devotion. To have devotion means to be dedicated and loyal. Working at something and putting 100% of yourself into it. Giving it your all despite the challenges, the difficulties, and even when you encounter opposition.
(3) Willingness. One can do the work, but if unwilling or forced upon, the results may just be mediocre. It will probably be at best, par level.
You will find no satisfaction or fulfillment if your mind is unwilling because this is work just so you can tick that off your to-do list and be done with it.
Work requires both heart and mind to harmoniously and unanimously agree with one another. King David knew that Solomon’s task of building the temple was huge, probably overwhelming.
This is why he admonished him to have wholehearted devotion and willingness of the mind so that he could complete the task undaunted.
No work or project will be blessed without God in the picture because He knows what’s in our hearts, whether we are fully committed to it or not. He also knows every motive behind our thoughts and hence our actions.
In the work that you do today, will you do excellent work and give it your best?
Will you be willing to make it work no matter how hard it seems?