God has blessed our church with many hard workers. We aren’t sitting around wishing we had more to do. If anything, we wish we had a few more hours every day to get things done. As we write out our annual plans, our monthly calendars, and our daily checklists we must remember that God has also written out a plan and it often railroads our own.
Unforeseen snags in a project, friends that drop by unannounced, kids getting sick at 2 am, and ink cartridges that run dry threaten to derail our sovereign will everyday day. When we hit these potholes, we’re tempted to think, “Well, this can’t honor you, Lord, because it’s not how I had planned to honor you today.” Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to honor God by not doing the things you planned to do, and instead doing the unforeseen things that God has brought to you.
The Apostle Paul tells us that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we might walk in them. (Eph. 2:10) And, instead of sputtering out because our own plans were thwarted, you and I are to stop and recognize that our loving Father prepared the day for us, and whatever situation we find ourselves in is the one he planned for us. So, we thank him and ask, “Lord, help me to trust that doing this thing I hadn’t planned on, and doing it with a joyful heart is exactly the thing that will bring honor to you.”
Ultimately God isn’t asking us to finish our to-do list. He’s asking us to lay down our lives and trust him. He knows what he’s doing—and he’s doing everything necessary to conform his children into the image of Christ and take us home to heaven. So, whatever you do, do it to the glory of Christ, and let the joy of the Lord be your strength.