God’s Design For Your WorkSample

God Has a Purpose For Work

Have you ever thought about God as a worker? That’s how He describes Himself. Genesis 1 is all about God’s work in creation. Throughout the Bible God is described as a builder, a king, a shepherd, and a potter. This is significant because God created us in His image and blessed us to work. Work, in its original form, was created as a good thing. When sin entered the world, it didn’t just impact our relationship with God and each other, it also made work hard. 

But work never stopped being good. God had a purpose for work right from the beginning and He still has a purpose for our work today. Jesus told us, “My Father is always at work to this very day and I too am working.” God gives us work so we can partner with Him in building His kingdom on earth. 

The world tells us that the purpose of work is to make a lot of money and create large, successful organizations. But these things are not the purpose for our work – just possible outcomes. The true purpose for all work is to worship God and bring Him glory. When we do our work in partnership with God, good things result, including being able to provide for our families and serve more people. But those are secondary to worshiping God. 

Phil Vischer genuinely wanted to integrate his faith into his passion for filmmaking. That led him to create VeggieTales, a series of videos designed to teach children about the Bible. The challenge he had was to focus on God’s purpose for the work, not his own. God prepared good things for us to do so we can walk in them, not be driven by them. When we focus on what the world wants it may work for a while, but we’ll be left empty in the long run. When we focus on God’s purpose for work, any work we do, whether it be managing a project, working on spreadsheets or washing dishes, can bring God glory.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the work You have blessed me to do. Guide me in being a better partner to You so that my work becomes worship and brings You glory. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. 

For Further Exploration

Visit Workmatters  for more reading plans and resources.