Do the work

David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all of the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.
I Chronicles 28:30

Part 1: 'Do the work'. It doesn't get much more straightforward than that, does it?How often do we talk about the work, even pray about the work, when God wants us to simply DO the work?Often this work is risky and requires a pouring out of ourselves that makes us feel vulnerable and sometimes just plain worn out. I need to do the work. Period.

Part 2: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged for the LORD God, my God, is with you'. Oh, sometimes the work is discouraging, especially when we focus on the circumstances in front of our eyes. Many times the work has a "them" that we fear (see yesterday's post for the explanation of the poor grammar usage!).

Part 3: 'He will not fail you or forsake you'. As in never. As in the whole world can disappoint you and God is still pointing us to the purpose of the work He has put before us.

When we are worn out with the work that God has for us, we also need to learn to rest and take the Sabbath that God intends for us. This can renew our body, mind, and attitude. When I try to pull myself up in my own strength I tend to wear myself out twice as quickly. The renewal of God is strong and He doesn't even need a weekend to accomplish it! :)

Just about every single Monday morning I walk into my classroom with the plans to be the best 7th grade teacher I can be-kind, compassionate, and eager to show the love of my God to so many. And then 30 minutes later they are streaming by my desk and I am reminded that I can't do it in my own strength. When I try to do it on my own, I fail miserably.I had several of those failure, humbling moments this week. In fact, I sort of feel like my week was punctuated with a variety of minor missteps, all of which created a feeling of failure-a huge fear of mine.

So what do I do? My urge is to tuck into my weekend and forget about it. However, I know that God calls me to learn from the week-to think, pray, and renew. What is the purpose of messing up if we can't be humble enough to have a teachable spirit and learn from our mistakes?

I hope and pray we can find renewal this weekend and Christmas.
Happy Friday!!!

Love and Blessings.