Work dominates our lives—especially those of us in ministry.
The typical American spends about 150,000 hours—or 40 percent of his life—at work (I suspect that for pastors, the number is even higher!).
In other words, you’ll spend more time working in ministry, thinking about ministry and commuting to your ministry than you will eating, relaxing and vacationing—all combined—this year.
Now, God wants you to succeed in ministry. In fact, in the Bible, God offers this guarantee:
“Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place” (Proverbs 16:3 MSG).
What does it mean to put God in charge of your work? There are three steps I’d suggest:
Seek God’s Direction
Ask him to guide you every day: in your planning…your organizing…your decision making…your implementing…and in relating to everyone you come in contact with. “The Lord is pleased when good people pray” (Proverbs 15:8a GNT).
Sharpen Your Skills
Be the best you can be for God’s glory. Never stop learning. Look for ways to cultivate the talents he’s given you.“If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (Ecclesiastes 10:10 NIV).
Stay Positive in Your Attitude
Refuse to be infected by the worrying, the complaining or the laziness of others. Remember, enthusiasm comes from the Greek phrase (en theos), that means “to be in God.” “In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people” (Colossians 3:23 NCV).
These are the conditions that guarantee God’s blessing on your work.
