Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. [1 Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)]
Jesus offered fishing advice to the disciples twice after they’d spent a night of fishing with absolutely nothing to show for it and, twice, after doing as He directed, they ended up with a miraculous catch of fish. The first time, their catch was so heavy that their nets began to tear and the two boats hauling it in nearly sunk from the weight! The second time, unable to pull the net into their boat, the men had to get out and drag it into shore!
Even a fresh crew would have had difficulty hauling in such enormous catches but these men had worked all night and probably were exhausted from the countless times they’d dropped or cast their nets and brought them in. Moreover, the fishermen’s work wasn’t over once they reached shore. They had to disentangle their catch from the three-layered trammel nets and had to clean, repair, and dry those nets before their work was done!
As awestruck as the disciples were by those overflowing nets, imagine their astonishment if the fish had jumped right into their boats! Surely the One with the divine power to restore lepers, cast out demons, feed a multitude with a boy’s lunch, cause a silver coin to appear in a fish’s mouth, and make fish appear at His command easily could have filled the disciple’s boats without the exhausted men lifting a hand. Despite the more than thirty miracles of provision and healing recorded in the gospels, Jesus chose to have them work for their blessing. He miraculously provided the fish but it was the men who did the heavy lifting!
Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” I think it’s much the same with God’s answers to our prayers. We’d prefer a God of instant solutions but most of God’s answers come disguised as work. Just as the disciples had to cast their nets before catching those fish, the Israelites had to go out daily to gather the manna God provided, Naaman had to wash in the Jordan seven times before God healed Him, and the servants had to fill the jugs with water before that water became wine. The ark didn’t suddenly appear on Noah’s doorstep nor were Jerusalem’s walls restored in a day—God’s provision required the work of human hands!
When we ask for a plentiful harvest, we shouldn’t be disappointed when the answer looks like seeds, bags of fertilizer, a hoe, and a shovel. When we pray for relief from our debts, it’s likely God’s provision will look more like overtime or a second job than an inheritance or a winning lottery ticket. When we pray for recovery from a stroke, God’s provision may mean hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapy rather than a miraculous restoration and, when we pray for sobriety, God’s answer will look a lot like rehab, a counselor, and twelve steps to work. Although God is responsible for the outcome, we’re responsible for the work!
Saint Augustine (or possibly Ignatius) wisely said, “Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.” That is good advice but only if we remember that prayer is how we must begin! It’s only after turning it over to God that we roll up our sleeves and get to work, always remembering that He alone is in charge and the outcome is up to Him!
You could not be saved through any effort of your own, but now that you are saved it is necessary for you to put forward every effort you can to glorify Him. [Harry Ironside]
The Israelites had experienced about two years of God’s power and faithfulness the first time they approached Canaan. After walking through the Red Sea on dry land, they saw Pharaoh’s army drown in the same waters. They heard God’s voice and were led through the wilderness by His cloud during the day and fire at night. God’s power turned bitter water sweet, fed them with quail and manna, and led them to victory against the Amalekites. Nevertheless, it seems as if all of that was forgotten when the twelve spies returned from their forty days scouting Canaan.
If I were doing what accountants call a cost-benefit analysis of our living in Florida, the cost side would include venomous snakes, poisonous cane toads, hurricanes, alligators, sink holes, fire ants, and mosquitos along with humidity, allergies, high insurance, and seasonal traffic. On the other hand, the benefits would include never having to shovel snow, scrape sleet from a windshield, or drive on icy roads, along with the enjoyment of beaches, beautiful birds, colorful flowers, ocean breezes, “early-bird” specials, sunshine, no state income tax, and never-ending summer. While not one hundred times better, the pluses outweigh the negatives and make it worthwhile (at least for us)!
When a rich man asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life, the Lord told him to sell everything and give it to the poor. More willing to part with eternal life than his riches, the disappointed man departed. When Jesus explained, ”It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” the disciples were astonished. Jewish tradition held that riches were a sign of God’s blessings and favor while poverty and sickness were God’s curse. If a rich man couldn’t get into the kingdom, they wondered who could.
Although our Bibles call Hagar a servant, she had no choice in the matter. Along with sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, and camels, the Egyptian woman probably was given to Abraham as part of the bride-price Pharaoh paid for Sarah in Genesis 12:16. As his property, Hagar couldn’t refuse when Sarah decided to use her servant’s womb and Abraham impregnated her. Once pregnant, the powerless victim of Sarah’s scheme taunted her mistress with her fertility and Sarah retaliated by treating her harshly. Abraham washed his hands of the women’s conflict by telling Sarah the way she treated (or mistreated) the woman was her business, not his! Hagar meant nothing to Abraham; she was little more than a brood mare who served her purpose.
Devotions of the Heart 