“Do The Work”

1 Chronicles 28:9-10 “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.” 

Many of you know that I recently received a Blessing from GOD: a new job, back into the career and industry of Human Respurces, the place where He planted me before my more recent Fitness career.  Few of you knew that I was desperately seeking this change (actually, ANY change), because of a longing I felt in my body and soul to be elsewhere. When the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t have been more excited! For five loooong years, I had asked GOD to give me His Desires for my heart ~~ so that I could be in alignment with His Will for my future. To the very detail of my prayers, He had placed specific things in my heart and on my mind that were all included within the context of this job.  Some things, I must admit, did not make sense to me at the time of my prayerful search ~~ nonetheless, I kept praying for them and for a greater understanding of them.

As I continue to forge ahead in this new venture, I realize how GOD’s sense of humor puts a smile on my face every day I go to work. You see, I’m all about anatomy and physiology, the natural biological sciences ~~ they intrigue me and give me a great appreciation for the GOD that I Worship. I’ve never been a “numbers” person ~~ mathematics has always intimidated me. In fact, so paralyzed with fear, I believe it was the reason I struggled so much with geometry and statistics throughout high school and college. I literally would avoid numerical encounters and defer the duty to someone else.

While in the thick of my fitness career, I learned that as a certified Personal Trainer, geometry  was a “constant” reminder of best performance, and adherence to the laws of geometry yielded the greatest results. In the back of my mind, I could hear my father chuckling and telling me what he said back in high school, “Child, it will come back to you and serve a purpose. You’d better learn it.” Daddy, you were so right (again)!

Adapting to the nuances of my new adventure, lo ‘n’ behold, yes, MORE NUMBERS.  So many, MANY numbers ~~ Girlfriend, SPREADSHEETS of numbers!  Does GOD have a sense of humor or what?!  In the quietness of my day, I look up and smile ~~ for ONLY GOD could even remotely laugh alongside of me ~~ in this incessant sea of numbers.  And of course, ONLY GOD would have made it possible for me to do the work of these numbers.  He alone could cast out my fear of working with them.

 The fear of taking on a new job assignment can be realized not only in the earthly sense, but equally in the spiritual sense.

Fullfilling our roles within the Body of Christ can sometimes be intimidating ~~ fear of failure due to a lack of knowledge and confidence ~~ newness of environment and unknown expectations … all of which can easily overwhelm a Believer’s soul.

Let’s return back to our Scripture verse above: King David is instructing his son, Solomon, to get to know God intimately.  That’s the first part of his instruction here.  Communion with GOD on a daily basis is always the first step to understanding His Will and receiving Power from The Holy Spirit to fulfill that Will. David continues with specifically telling Solmon to worship and serve Him wholeheartedly and wholemindedly. That is the key: to doing the work.

I’ll be the first to admit, Sister, that I’ve not always felt equipped to do the work asked of me.  There’s NO doubting whenever you sense God Himself placing you in certain situations to accomplish His Will.  With me, He usually confirms my Assignment with a training session.  Sometimes it occurs Before the Assignment, and sometimes it’s simply OJT (on the job training). Shortly after the training session (and that session could last a season), circumstances will occur that will dovetail with what tools and skills I’ve recently acquired. In other words, it will be time to use them ~~ time to do the work.  

GOD can and will ordain you to do the work to build His Kingdom within His Church.  He will ordain you to reach out and affect the lost world around you.  He will ordain you to impact your sphere of influence ~~ that’s why you’re there.

Going back to our Scripture verse, what if the “temple” could be considered you or I?  After all, we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and if we truly follow Jesus, He resides within us.  So if we took these instructions to heart, wouldn’t we be hearing GOD telling us to continue building up (strengthening) His Temple?   Not just in the physical sense, but most especially in the spiritual sense.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 

David’s closing words to Solomon in our Scripture verse are: be strong and do the work. 
From a parental standpoint, we can confer with David. Children (and often times adults, too) don’t readily accept the fact that we must do things we’re unfamiliar with or uncomfortable doing.  I can recall my friend telling her younger child, who at the moment was groaning about doing a particular task, ” … sometimes we have to do the hard things …”  Not that the task in question was “difficult” per se, but the child was equating “undesirable” with “difficulty.”  Hello, Sister, can I get an Amen, here on behalf of childlike adult thinking?

 Mental Muscle and Spiritual Muscle will ultimately go hand in hand ~~ to do the work ~~ that will indeed Build The Temple.

I’m a firm believer that GOD equips each and every one of us to do the work He has called us to do.  He does NOT place us in situations nor circumstances without the necessary tools to do what is needed, regardless of what it is.  GOD is love, loves us, and would never set us up for failure. But it is up to us to call upon Him in time of need to allow Him to accomplish His Work through us and that’s when others see Him.

GOD will show up and show off on behalf of His Own, never to disappoint but to demonstrate His Love.

If ever we’re feeling a lack of skill or confidence, it’s usually because we’ve taken our eyes and focus off of GOD ~~ aside from Him we can do nothing.  Distractions will bring disaster ~~ so an all out effort is necessary to remain single-visioned and pursue our Calling.

Everything we are called to do, is the work He has ordained for us to accomplish.  You need not be in full time ministry.  As Believers and Followers in Christ, we are already in ministry.  We lead the ones coming up behind us~~ new Believers, children, fellow Believers, etc.  Work also includes the jobs we hold in the world ~~ as teachers, salespersons, cashiers, flight attendants, physical therapists, maintenance workers, etc. 

When I’m asked, “What is my calling?”  My answer is usually another question, “What are you doing?”

You are doing what you are called to do for the present moment ~~ even if it doesn’t seem to remotely resemble what YOU believe are your goals or PASSION.  We are instructed to be strong and do the work.  And I’ll admit, many, MANY times I’ve questioned my own place and asked myself, “what on earth am I doing here?!”  And that’s OK ~~ I believe that’s just my brain catching up to what GOD has directed me to participate in.  

God is all about the work ~~ and we are definitely a work in progress.

Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

So all this to say, Girlfriend … It’s time to go to work!
I love you to Heaven and Back, Sister ~~

LindaRJohnson

T2T Visionary