Whatever You Do

I love how Paul says in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  

Whatever you do.

It may be hard.

It may difficult.

There may be suffering, or heartache, or loss, or brokenness involved.

God may call you to be a social worker and encounter some of the worst family situations imaginable.

God may call you to be a firefighter or a nurse and encounter death face-to-face.

God may call you to be a lawyer and confront criminals and thieves.

But the fact remains, (cue the cliché) God called you to it and He’ll see you through it.  

My friends, I feel so burdened to share that your calling may be the primary cause of your suffering.

Paul’s calling was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and do you know where he wrote from most of the time?

Jail.

Prison.

After being flogged and whipped and beaten. 

I think so often we give up on our calling because what God calls us to is hard. It requires hard conversations, performing difficult tasks, being disciplined, sacrificing comfort and ease, or perhaps taking less pay than another occupation.

But, the fact remains. 

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”

God desires our first and our best. And if we’re going to live out of that posture, then we must be willing to give our best effort to the best things that God has called us to. The things that will make the biggest impact, have the biggest difference, form the greatest influence. 

That’s our purpose. This is who we’re called to be, my friends. Agents of restoration in the redemptive story of God. 

We honor God by using and maximizing and multiplying the gifts, talents, and abilities that He’s graciously given to us.

Paul’s instructions can be summed up this way: Give your best effort where you’re able.  

Now for those of us who have grown up in church, or have been irked or malformed by religion, this is where many of us can get bent out of shape. Right? Because for some of you, you’re hearing, “give God your best” or, “give effort,” and what’s being processed in your mind is give God “perfect.” 

Right? 

But giving God your first and your best isn’t God’s command to be perfect. He’s not upholding you to some standard of perfection and when you inevitably don’t meet it, kicking you to the curb.

That’s not how God works.

And if any way, the Church has made you to feel otherwise, I’m so sorry. 

So many of us have convinced ourselves that if we’re a follower of Jesus and we still struggle with sin, we must be doing it wrong. We must not be living the way God wants and therefore, he doesn’t need us. He doesn’t want us. We’re not worth it.

So, what do we do?

We give up. 

And instead of allowing ourselves to be humbled, sharpened, and solidified in the crucible of spiritual formation, we walk away dejected before the journey can ever really begin.

Let us commit today, to writing a different story. To offering God our first and our best.

Be encouraged.