As God has been dealing with me and what He says about “work” it has captured how I view work. I used to only see work as an occupation/a job. Then a few years ago I started learning about “work is worship.” It has been said, that Ministry is spelled, “W-O-R-K”.
The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
Deut. 28:12
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Eph. 4:28
In the 28th chapter Deuteronomy you have amid the set of Blessings God is releasing, we have “bless all the work of your hands”.
There are things I do with my hands that don’t involve my business, but it does involve the ministry God has blessed me with. Now while I am laboring to help others, I find it very comforting and encouraging to know that God is blessing this work. In ministry, I pray a lot for people, and I lay hands on people to bless them too. Thank You, God, for that blessing. Me being able to help someone along their journey is always a good thing, a God-thing.
Now in the book of Ephesians we have “the turnaround” or transformation. The thief is given an opportunity to turn from doing wrong and do something right. He/she was taking from others and now they can freely give to others. When we are “saved” we come from living one life and can begin to live this New Life in Christ. Even the thief on the cross next to Jesus asked for another chance, and he asked for mercy.
When the thief changes, he takes the same hands that he used to do wrong and to “do honest work.” We have hands so we can do things that are pleasing to God. Our hands are needed for so many tasks. God is asking us to help others, to be a Blessing. There, He blessings us/our hands so that what we do has a greater impact on the world we are sent out to serve and to save.
Carter Thomas has been a member at Cornerstone since Easter 2002. During the week he is a counsellor and life coach. Carter is the Founder of Men Against Human Trafficking (MAHT) and a member of the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition (LCHTC).
