Image God Through Your WorkSample

None of us want to waste our lives. Yet, as women, we tend to live with low-level disappointment in ourselves. Often, there is a gnawing sense that we could be doing more and should be performing better in all spheres of our lives. We desperately want to be more productive, and we want to have pure motives in our productivity.

In all our striving, we’ve missed the joy that comes with using the gifts given uniquely to us by God. In some cases, we’ve chosen to put down our talents for the urgency of tasks that have to be done, like laundry or dinner. These matter- but is stewarding our God-given gifts optional?

The word “work” brings out a variety of reactions for many of us. For some, work is seen as a necessary evil because we live in a world that needs money to survive, and work is how we get paid. The necessity of paid work and our reliance on money to provide for basic needs can create a divide between our “work” and our worship.

This divide is not relegated to work alone- there are countless examples of ways we segment our lives between the spiritual and the secular. Often, there are separate boxes for family, church, work, friends, health, hobbies, etc, and typically, each of these fall under two umbrellas: sacred and secular. In the sacred category, we have our family, our church community, various church gatherings, and so forth. In the secular category, we’ve got our jobs, hobbies, health, etc. This compartmentalization and division of sacred and secular have led to a disjointed way of living rather than a holistic one. If you are in Christ, every box or category of life is to be lived for God and His purposes.

Whatever vocation God has called you to is sacred work, carried out in a body that is meant to be offered to Him every moment of every day. You work “as unto the Lord” with your God-given unique skills, talents, and passions. Your contribution to the world matters. The way you spend your time and the tasks you carry out are now a part of His grand kingdom purposes as you offer it back to Him. As you yield all things to Him, including your work, your days and tasks will never go to waste. He makes every moment count!

In this devotional, we’ll take a new look at work and discover how it is good, fallen, redeemed, and eternal.

Thank you for reading this devotional plan, which is based on Women & Work: Bearing God’s Image and Joining in His Mission through our Work (published by B&H Books, 2023, and edited by Courtney Moore). Get more information at womenandworkbook.com