Marybeth Whalen
"Then David continued, '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. He will see to it that all the work related to the temple of the Lord is finished correctly.'" I Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)
I pushed the computer aside, convinced that the task I was attempting was impossible. I couldn't fathom completing the work I had ahead of me and I needed a mental break. Picking up a Christian book I was reading, I carried it upstairs to the treadmill, deciding to pound out my frustration and read at the same time. I had no idea I was about to have my own personal revival.
Several pages into the book I read today's verse. Have you ever had a verse jump off the page at you? Well, this one did. I thought back to my frustration with the work I was facing earlier and felt God speak to me through this verse. Quit telling me how impossible the task is and just do the work, He said. Don't forget I will show up each time. Not so you can boast about your abilities, but so you can boast in Me.
After my time on the treadmill, I raced downstairs to email a friend of mine who I had complained to earlier that day. I told her how the verse had ministered to me, and how I was going to simply do the work. She wrote back that she had been praying for God to speak to me about the task that was overwhelming me. I had a new motto as I recommitted to the task at hand: Do the work. Whenever I started to get discouraged or overwhelmed by the hugeness of the task, I reminded myself: Do the work—three little words that got me through one of the biggest challenges of my life. Perhaps you need to hear those three little words today.
Are you facing a challenge in your job? Do the work.
Does your marriage need to be rebuilt? Do the work.
Are you worried about your ability to be a good mother? Do the work.
Are you dealing with a personal hardship that just seems too big to overcome? Do the work.
Are you struggling with debt and financial issues? Do the work.
Do you want to eat healthier, commit to regular exercise or lose weight? Do the work.
Is there a dream that God has planted in your heart that seems too big for you? Do the work.
Make no mistake: sometimes the work will be hard. Note that our verse today didn't say "Lay around and hope things get better." The challenge we face is not in focusing on how hard the work is, but in seeking the God who has promised to show up as we work. We offer our best efforts and trust that He will multiply them. We will see Him supply the words, the resources, the energy, the time, the patience, the grace we need. But first we must do the work. Just like the priests had to first step into the water before the Jordan could part in Joshua 3:15-16, so we must begin working before we can see the solution appear.
What work do you need to start doing—or keep doing—no matter how discouraged or disheartened you feel? I pray that you will see Him at work on your behalf today as you do the work He has called you to do. Do the work, and He will be with you.
Dear Lord, help me to look to You and not to the hugeness of the work I have ahead of me. Help me not to be afraid or discouraged. I thank You for Your promise that You are with me and that You will not fail me or forsake me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Need a compelling reason to buy yourself a new book this fall? Or want to get an early jump on Christmas shopping? For the rest of this week only, we are offering a 31% discount on all of our resources! Click here to visit our P31 online store and save big on titles you’ve been wanting to read!
The Mailbox by Marybeth Whalen
Learning to Live Financially Free by Marybeth and Curt Whalen
The Complete Guide to Getting & Staying Organized by Karen Ehman
Application Steps:
Spend time journaling about a challenge you are facing in your life. What work can you do today towards that challenge?
Reflections:
What discouragement or fear keeps you from doing the work? How can you avoid those crippling feelings?
Power Verses:
Haggai 2:4, "But now be strong O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you, declares the Lord almighty." (NIV)
Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power." (NIV)
© 2010 by Marybeth Whalen. All rights reserved.
"Then David continued, '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. He will see to it that all the work related to the temple of the Lord is finished correctly.'" I Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)
I pushed the computer aside, convinced that the task I was attempting was impossible. I couldn't fathom completing the work I had ahead of me and I needed a mental break. Picking up a Christian book I was reading, I carried it upstairs to the treadmill, deciding to pound out my frustration and read at the same time. I had no idea I was about to have my own personal revival.
Several pages into the book I read today's verse. Have you ever had a verse jump off the page at you? Well, this one did. I thought back to my frustration with the work I was facing earlier and felt God speak to me through this verse. Quit telling me how impossible the task is and just do the work, He said. Don't forget I will show up each time. Not so you can boast about your abilities, but so you can boast in Me.
After my time on the treadmill, I raced downstairs to email a friend of mine who I had complained to earlier that day. I told her how the verse had ministered to me, and how I was going to simply do the work. She wrote back that she had been praying for God to speak to me about the task that was overwhelming me. I had a new motto as I recommitted to the task at hand: Do the work. Whenever I started to get discouraged or overwhelmed by the hugeness of the task, I reminded myself: Do the work—three little words that got me through one of the biggest challenges of my life. Perhaps you need to hear those three little words today.
Are you facing a challenge in your job? Do the work.
Does your marriage need to be rebuilt? Do the work.
Are you worried about your ability to be a good mother? Do the work.
Are you dealing with a personal hardship that just seems too big to overcome? Do the work.
Are you struggling with debt and financial issues? Do the work.
Do you want to eat healthier, commit to regular exercise or lose weight? Do the work.
Is there a dream that God has planted in your heart that seems too big for you? Do the work.
Make no mistake: sometimes the work will be hard. Note that our verse today didn't say "Lay around and hope things get better." The challenge we face is not in focusing on how hard the work is, but in seeking the God who has promised to show up as we work. We offer our best efforts and trust that He will multiply them. We will see Him supply the words, the resources, the energy, the time, the patience, the grace we need. But first we must do the work. Just like the priests had to first step into the water before the Jordan could part in Joshua 3:15-16, so we must begin working before we can see the solution appear.
What work do you need to start doing—or keep doing—no matter how discouraged or disheartened you feel? I pray that you will see Him at work on your behalf today as you do the work He has called you to do. Do the work, and He will be with you.
Dear Lord, help me to look to You and not to the hugeness of the work I have ahead of me. Help me not to be afraid or discouraged. I thank You for Your promise that You are with me and that You will not fail me or forsake me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Need a compelling reason to buy yourself a new book this fall? Or want to get an early jump on Christmas shopping? For the rest of this week only, we are offering a 31% discount on all of our resources! Click here to visit our P31 online store and save big on titles you’ve been wanting to read!
The Mailbox by Marybeth Whalen
Learning to Live Financially Free by Marybeth and Curt Whalen
The Complete Guide to Getting & Staying Organized by Karen Ehman
Application Steps:
Spend time journaling about a challenge you are facing in your life. What work can you do today towards that challenge?
Reflections:
What discouragement or fear keeps you from doing the work? How can you avoid those crippling feelings?
Power Verses:
Haggai 2:4, "But now be strong O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you, declares the Lord almighty." (NIV)
Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power." (NIV)
© 2010 by Marybeth Whalen. All rights reserved.
Labels: Balance, Overcoming, Perseverance, Time with God, Trusting God, Waiting On God
16 Comments:
Before I delved into today's devotion...I was doing some computer work that I had been a bit behind on for work. Amazing how God works as He tells me through your beautiful message that I just need to "Do the Work". The Lord knows my struggles and is always there for me. Every devotion I read...I feel it was meant for me! Thank you for your dedication to this ministry and I am thankful that the Lord is using you to get through to me. In Jesus name, Teresa.
WOW! Three simple little words can have such a huge impact. DO THE WORK! I have been struggling this year as a teacher of high school. There have been so many changes and stresses put on us this year for the first time I have not been enjoying it. I know that teaching is my mission field and often times the mission field is not easy. This verse and devotional is really going to help me get back to the love of teaching and not focus on all the extra stress. Thank you!
I went to bed last night, knowing that i have an impossible amount of work to do today. Stressing over it, i lost sleep.
After having lost sleep, this morning i worried about not delivering my best possible material today, due to fuzzy thinking...
Then i read this.
Thank you!
Praise God that He is with us!!!
Anonymous teacher & I are in the same boat.I too love teaching, and in my 34th year of doing this job, i am stressed to the max. i will do ths job w/ a new focus & hope. God & i are gonna "do it" 2gether! Prayin 4 u anonymous teacher!
There's nothing I needed to hear more today! It was most definitely a word in due season. Thank you for your faithfulness to hear from the Lord and share with the rest of us.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This is JUST what I needed to hear today. I was reading the devotion and thinking that there was no way this could apply to the work I need to do -- that it's so small and insignificant compared to "real" problems that women face. But there it was, plain as day...Thank you for speaking to my heart. I've done some damage in my weight-loss quest but I want to do the work to recover the ground I lost. DO THE WORK!!!
Do you ladies at Proverbs31 read these comments? I hope so. I feel like you do. If so, please join me in praise and laughter. You know, the kind of laugh that comes from making eye contact with your spouse or a friend over a secret joke. You both know what the other is thinking--a joyful laughter.
God makes me laugh in that way. I feel like God has given me the answers through the devotions this week about everything that I've been praying to Him about for months.
Here's what those prayers have been about: 1) I'm a writer who's been waiting on that one opportunity. I finally got it, and it is way harder to execute and more demanding--yet also more rewarding--than I had ever dreamed. 2) Part of the problem working for a newspaper is the deadlines. I will be up 18-21 hours in a day somedays. Having fibromyalgia I end up working to exhausting for 3 days then not moving for the next 4. This is difficult on my body and my family. That pace cannot continue. 3) I struggle with food addiction and battles with exercise due to pain with the fibro. I'm borderline diabetic and heading that way if I don't change. 4) Chaos reigns in my home. I'm a "perfectionist messie" to begin with, and now that I'm working it is worse and so overwhelming. So, I just take everything to the Lord.
This week I think He said, "Okay, here's what you do." My heart heard God say " Listen to me. 1) Life (and your job) is hard. Depend on me and I'll get you through. Glynnis can explain it to you. 2) GET SOME REST. I have this all worked out. Rachel knows what I mean..3) You are not alone in struggling with your weight. I know all about how to help you deal with the temptation and so does Lysa. 4) The only way to get your house, life, routine...everything you have been praying about is to "just do it." Do the work. Marybeth is going to share something I said about that..."
At this point in my conversation with God I had to laugh. He knows what I was thinking. Those are special moments when that happen with your friends and family. It's the same with God. And you ladies are part of the plan. Thank you so, so much all of you (and everyone at P31) for making a difference. I'm sorry this is so long, but I really wanted you to know how important following God's leadi is...not just to me, but to all of us. Thank you, Lorraine Furtner Furtner_jl@hotmail.com
Do you ladies at Proverbs31 read these comments? I hope so. I feel like you do. If so, please join me in praise and laughter. You know, the kind of laugh that comes from making eye contact with your spouse or a friend over a secret joke. You both know what the other is thinking--a joyful laughter.
God makes me laugh in that way. I feel like God has given me the answers through the devotions this week about everything that I've been praying to Him about for months.
Here's what those prayers have been about: 1) My dream job is way harder to execute and more demanding--yet also more rewarding--than I had ever dreamed. 2) Some work days I'm up 18-21 hours in a day somedays. I have fibromyalgia so the rest of my week is shot when I do that. 3) I struggle with food addiction and battles with exercise due to pain with the fibro. I'm borderline diabetic and heading that way if I don't change. 4) Chaos reigns in my life. I'm a "perfectionist messie"and my job makes it worse. I'm so overwhelmed. So, I just take everything to the Lord.
This week He said, "Okay, here's what you do." My heart heard God say " Listen to me. 1) Life (and your job) is hard. Depend on me and I'll get you through. Glynnis can explain it to you. 2) GET SOME REST. I have this all worked out. Rachel knows what I mean..3) You are not alone in struggling with your weight. I know all about how to help you deal with the temptation and so does Lysa. 4) The only way to get your house, life, routine...everything you have been praying about is to "just do it." Do the work. Marybeth is going to share something I said about that..."
At this point in my conversation with God I had to laugh. He knows what I was thinking. Those are special moments when that happen with your friends and family. It's the same with God. And you ladies are part of the plan. Thank you so, so much all of you (and everyone at P31) for making a difference.
Thank you, Lorraine Furtner Furtner_jl@hotmail.com
OOPS! Sorry. Somehow I posted my original and edited / shortened version of my comment. I did not mean to.
All Glory and Praise to God for today's devotional! I was wondering this morning where is my fire? It seems my desire for helping and serving has been put out by the problems and frustrations I'm trying to deal with but this message "Do the Work" tells me God is there, He knows what I'm going through and He'll bring me through all the struggles with His grace, mercy and love. The fire is still burning and a little dampness won't put it out! Thank you Mary Beth. Your devotionals are always on target!
Thank you for this wonderful devotion. You have no idea how much I needed this today. I'm another one that lost sleep over worrying about work and how I'm going to get it all done. I'm ready to Do The Work and let God take control.
Thank you, thank you sooo much for writing this. I'm here in my library campus exhausted for all the work I need to get done that I've been procrastinating, to fearful to deal with them. This week I've been reading so many encouraging words from God through out the Bible and it's been really refreshing but two days ago, for some reason, I just lost it and I feel more pathetic than ever, but now that you quote that verse from the Bible, wow, it was just what I needed. Thank you so much for your wise words and for being obedient to the Spirit of God. XOXO!
I am jobless after 18 years working with one company and right in the middle of another 'break' from trying to write my resume, this message came into my inbox. I can identify with each and every one of your "Do the Work" questions. Brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so very much for making this Daily Devotional subcription available. I've been 'lost' for quite some time, your messages have reminded me that God is watching over me and He is aware and He will help me if I turn to Him.
Alison
I am working on my doctorate degree and often wonder why the Lord is leading me in this direction. Every time I want to stop or get discouraged, He nudges me along. I have written this verse to have on my wall in front of my desk. Do the work.
Thank you for your faithful sharing.
Thank you...this is just what I needed to hear on so many different levels. It's so easy to allow our burdens to overwhelm us and leave us incompacitated. But when we remember that our Lord and Savior is with us, and we "do the work" that He is calling us to do at this very moment, then the burdens are really His and not ours.
Oh, Father, help me keep my gaze upon you and not the burdens that surround me.
In the blessed name of Jesus!
Michele
I just found out I'm pregnant with our 5th baby... totally unplanned. Your word was straight from God's mouth. Thank you so much! To Him be the glory!
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