Thursday, February 26, 2009

THANKFUL THURSDAY...hard work

Undisciplined people often times look for ways to avoid hard work. Everything in our culture seems to be geared towards making life easier:

ride the escalator instead of the stairs, take the elevator, order fast food, have photos printed in one hour, drive thru pharmacy

Sometimes, the easy way is not always the best way!

Today, on THANKFUL THURSDAY I am giving God praise and thanks for hard work! Yes, you heard me right - HARD WORK! I think it is so true that nothing comes to those who do not work hard. As Christians, God expects us to work hard.

PROVERBS 22:29 "Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men."

Jesus tells us that the harvest is plenty but the laborers few. I do not want to be counted in the "few". If Christ would return today, I want Him to find me not just laboring for Him, but laboring diligently!

There are many things in my life that I have had to work hard at:

Y I have had to work hard to build my personal business to what it is today.
Y I have had to work hard at maintaining a dress size that I feel comfortable with.
Y I have had to work hard at keeping my grey hair from not overshadowing other colors.

Not only in my physical being have I worked hard, but my spiritual being also:

Y I have had to work hard at forgiving others.
Y I have had to work hard at forgiving myself.
Y I have had to work hard at seeing myself thru God's eyes.
Y I have had to work hard at seeing others thru God's eyes.

HOW DILIGENT ARE YOU IN YOUR LABOR?

  • is reading your Bible hard for you?
  • do you find sharing the gospel with others difficult?
  • how hard is it to keep from stumbling?
  • is it hard for you to give to others?
  • how hard is it for you to give extra money in the offering?
  • when is the last time you did something for someone in need? was it hard for you?
Are all the above things difficult?
Is it hard work to be a Christian?
to do good for others?

Sure it is hard at times...but I am so thankful for it all. God didn't say it would be easy. Why should it be easy. Do you think it was easy for Jesus to die on the cross? I am thankful today that in me, God has put a spirit of giving, a spirit of laboring and a spirit of thankfulness.

HOW ABOUT YOU?
WHAT ARE YOU DILIGENTLY WORKING TOWARDS?

Please visit IRIS at GRACE ALONE, who graciously hosts THANKFUL THURSDAY every Thursday. It is HERE that you will find Iris and her friends giving thanks to God for His mercy and grace!


YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL...have you voted in this week's poll yet? Find it on the side bar of this blog. Your opinion really does matter!!

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9 comments:

  1. PiaFebruary 25, 2009 at 9:40 PM

    God allows us to go through some difficulties for a reason. And He knows what is good for us. in everything we do we should always give our best.

    happy TT.

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  2. Sweet BlessingsFebruary 25, 2009 at 10:04 PM

    What a great reminder! Blessings to you! Amanda:)

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2009 at 10:39 PM

    Thanks for the great post. Let's see...what am I working hard at? Well, I work part time at a job where praise is not easily obtained. I used to work hard to impress the boss...but my hard work went un-noticed most of the time. It didn't take me long to realize that I was working hard for the wrong reasons. Now I work hard regardless of any "atta-girls" I might get. I work hard for God, period.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2009 at 3:55 AM

    Great thoughts! You are so right about hard work. I worked really hard to find a job. Now I found one with great potential. Yet, this job will require a lot of studying from me, as well as passing several exams. The man who hired me told me the second exam is really difficult.

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  5. DeniseFebruary 26, 2009 at 3:59 AM

    I loved this, bless you.

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  6. Laurie AnnFebruary 26, 2009 at 7:26 AM

    Laurie, I loved loved loved this post! Hard work, both physical and spiritual, is truly rewarding. May God find me hard at work for Him when He returns or calls me Home. I'm working hard at preparing to surrender my psychological and physical addiction to nicotine to God. I doubt I'll be smoking this time tomorrow.

    P. S. I promise we won't go out for sushi when we get together for lunch. Too funny! Octupus was gaross but the eel and shrimp and crab were yummers. Knowing they were steamed and not raw helped tremendously.

    ReplyDelete
  7. JenniferFebruary 26, 2009 at 7:39 AM

    Awesome post today, Laurie! I tell my children that nothing is really "free" but everything that is important takes hard work.

    Thanks for reminding me again today.

    Happy TT!

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  8. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2009 at 9:41 AM

    Thanks for that. I need to make 'dilligence' more a part of my life these days.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AngelaFebruary 26, 2009 at 10:06 AM

    I LOVE this post...thanks for the 'sharpening'. Proverbs 27:17

    ReplyDelete

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