Committing to the Work: Being Dedicated and Committed to the AssignmentSample

Starting and completing something is about motivation, but it’s even more about the standard.

There have been times when I lost my motivation to do something, but because I set a standard of finishing well, I completed it despite my lack of motivation and desire. When we are ones that God can trust, it is because we live by a different standard than someone that He can’t trust. It often means that we have intentionally made a choice to live our lives differently from others who don’t believe in Christ and sometimes even other believers, despite the push back we may get for doing this. This is not because we feel that we are better or even because we are in a position to judge them. It is because we understand who we represent and how He has called us to represent Him in our lives.

This is expressed in 1 Peter 1:15: “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (NLT). Holiness is the standard that we should live by. Although we all have been given a standard, the way it will look in each of our lives is different based on the assignment. If my assignment is writing, then I must choose holiness in how I write, which will look different from someone who must choose holiness as a musician. Yet as I choose to be dedicated to the standard, He can trust me with greater. It is because either we are affecting people we encounter or they are infecting us that we must be conscious of the standard.

I would dare to say that God entrusts us with assignments equal to the standard of holiness we have committed to being obedient to and walking in.

According to the Google dictionary, the definition of a standard is a level of quality or attainment.

To what level are we dedicated to His assignment?

Some of us are just defining what that looks like in our world. Some of us are realizing that more is required of us concerning what God has assigned us to. And others are assessing the standard of righteousness that we have been walking in versus what God has called us to walk in. Without a standard, we can be manipulated by the enemy to go halfway rather than all the way.

The enemy knows that in order for us to complete our assignment, we must have a standard. We get to see Jesus walk out the greatest example of a standard when He is tempted by the devil in Matthew 4:1–11.

Every time I read this I just envision Jesus putting a stake in the ground and saying, “No, I will not!” Why? Because He had a standard of holiness that kept Him focused on His assignment. That standard allowed Him to confront Satan’s attempts to stop Him from being devoted to completing the assignment that He had been sent here to complete: dying on the cross for our sins.

What standards do you have that will help you stay committed?