Work---With A Purpose

November 18, 2009

Whew! I am feeling worn ragged and it’s only Wednesday! Yesterday I had a very long work day---basically from 7am-12am. The boatswain’s mates on this cutter are relentless! At times I feel about ready to pop like a stretched out rubber band, but God sustains me moment by moment and gives me the strength I need. I’ve been learning a lot about work and worship---how they’re not two different acts done in different places and different clothes. Rather as a follow of Christ I should be living my life as a continuous act of worship---whatever I am doing, I should be doing it unto the Lord.

God is stretching me like never before; constantly challenging me in new ways and in ways I don’t like to be challenged. He loves me enough though to put me through pain so that I am refined and transformed into Christ’s image. I should not just look at work as “work” but as the opportunity that God is giving me to be made more like Christ, be a living testimony of how great God is by the way I work, and the very thing God is using to prepare me for going into missions. I struggle, but God is greater than my struggles. I am weak, but His grace is all I need. He is with me so I will not fear.

This is the battle I face momentarily---fighting for joy in Christ as I work and am far away from family. At times I don’t think I can go on and in fact would rather not go on, but Christ is faithful when I am faithless and does not leave me alone. He comforts me and holds me by His grace.

So today as I was sorting and resorting what seemed to be a million float jackets and moving them here and there, God gave me joy. I struggled, but He held me and brought me through the day. I pray that I pointed others to Christ as I worked today---He is the reason I am here. So I do have a purpose to the seemingly pointless work I am instructed to do. The biggest complaint I hear from other Seaman is that the boatswain’s mates have us do pointless work just to keep us busy---but I am not working pointlessly. I have a purpose in my work---a purpose from God. So I will not just work to get by, I will work with a purpose and do my best even when I am tired and weary---pray for me in this. God has placed me here on the Midgett to be Christ to these people. They need Him desperately and I am here to make Him known. I am here to glorify my Lord to this end I will labor. I am never just doing a pointless task---I always have a purpose in whatever I am doing because God has a purpose for it all.