Working for God

It is a fact of the culture and the country we live in today that we have raised a whole generation, if not 2 generations, that has little to no work ethic. While that is sad-but-true statement, it appears that the truth in Christianity may be sadder than that.  It seems we have raised multiple generations with no work ethic for God.

I believe that our devotion today in 1 Kings 18:30-37 shows us 3 things about working for God that we need to start re-instilling in the church, which means re-instilling in the individual Christians within the church.

Gods work can be a mending type of work. In verses 30-32 Elijah mends the torn down altar. This can be hard, tiring, laborious work at times. We are not talking about taking 12 rocks the size of a baseball and building some little figurine type of altar. These rocks had to be big enough and sturdy enough to support a full grown cow and all of the wood it would take to make a fire big enough to consume that whole cow.

We all have tendencies to tear down some of the holy, sacred things of God in our lives from time to time; and once torn down they take some effort to rebuild. It may not be easy or particularly quick, but it should be done, and must be done if we are going to move forward with any other work for God.

Gods work can be a messy type of work. In verses 33-35 it is easy to read over the reality of what was going on here. To do this the way God said do it you have to do this like it is commanded to be done in Leviticus chapter 1. There we find that to do what Elijah was doing (remember he is doing this by himself), meant he had to kill the cow, skin the cow, butcher the cow, wash the legs and entrails, and put certain parts up on the altar. Can you see Elijah on his knees in the mud and the blood? It’s not a pretty sight, but because we already know the end of the story it makes for a beautiful picture.

It can get messy when we do Gods work sometimes. It is messy sometimes confessing and asking for forgiveness, whether that be to God or to some person, but God says do it. It can be messy confronting people about their walk with God, but God says do it.  It’s not a pleasant thought that God’s work can be messy.  But this story reminds us that in the end we can see a beautiful picture just as Elijah did once he did the work like God says to do it.

Gods work should also be a magnifying type of work at all times. In verses 36-37 we find Elijah praying. Anyone who seeks to have a full prayer life knows that prayer in itself is work. While that is true, what I believe we need to see here is not only that Elijah prayed, but why he prayed. 

One of the reasons we see is at the end of verse 37 where Elijah says he wants God to turn the hearts of the people back to Him. The ultimate reason though is found in verse 36 and again in verse 37. That reason is so that others will know that He is God, that He will be magnified and glorified as God. Whatever we do for God, the ultimate goal of it all should be to magnify God and make His name great among people, even lost people.

Questions for the Day:

1.  Do a self-inventory of your personal service/work that you do for God, keeping in mind that a primary place of service to God is through the local church.  If someone were to ask you, "How do you serve God at Emmanuel Baptist" would you have a specific answer?

2.  Lead your family to find a simple, magnifying type of work you can do together, and then do it for the pure joy of helping someone else and glorifying God.

3.  Spend some time in prayer seeking where you may need to do a mending type of work, even if it turns into a messy type of work that involves giving or asking for forgiveness.