friday

Be Enthusiastic in Your Work

If you want your work to be blessed by God, the first thing you must do is start working enthusiastically.

Enthusiasm is not based on how fun your job is or how much it pays; it's based on why you do what you do. In fact, the word enthusiasm comes from the Greek words en theos which mean "in God."

If you want to be enthusiastic about your work, remember these three things:

Your work is a test from God -- "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much But if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" (Luke 16:10-12 NIV)

God is watching what you do, even when no one else is -- "Work hard so God can say to you, "Well done.' Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work." (2 Timothy 2:15 LB)

Your attitude determines your joy -- "The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work." (Proverbs 12:24 MSG)

You can't succeed in life until you change your attitude about the work you are doing right now. Romans 12:11 says, "Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically." (NLT)

HAPPY FRIDAY!  

I never knew that the Greek root of "enthusiasm", "en theos" meant "in God". That's a pretty cool thing, that enthusiasm is related to God.
I think today's devotional is kind of saying, 'quality over quantity', but emphasizing the quality part.
Where does the quality come from? The time spent on whatever it is, our sincerity, and our enthusiasm.
For example, I don't think anyone can fully appreciate a present that is roughly put together, and the giver is reluctant to spend time and money on the gift. On the other hand, we all love a gift that is sincere. Likewise, I think God will truly bless our worship if we all have a true, enthusiastic heart to
praise God.

The only 'work' I do for God is being on praise team, which I dont even consider work because I really enjoy it. What I need to focus on is doing things for the right reason. Am I singing on stage to glorify God or to be noticed and heard by other people? Am I sacrificing hours of my weekend to bring my best to God or to spend time with people I like? It's all about the motives and what's truly in your heart. No one else can see your true intentions other than God and he is the only one who really matters so we all need to make sure that we are doing all that we do for him and only him. Oh, actually I guess working out is something I do for God too because I only started in response to the devos that said physical fitness is a spiritual discipline. I noticed that for some reason it's much easier for me to workout to loud, fast paced rap music where some dude with a rapper-ish voice is yelling in my ear rather than when I'm working out to praise music (yes, I have tried that because I wanted it to symbolize that I'm doing this for God). For some reason working out is 10x harder when I'm listening to Hillsong rather than when I'm listening to Eminem... This sort of confuses me because there actually is a vast, tangible difference between how I feel when working out to either genre. I'd like to think that it's harder for me to workout with praise music because I try harder when I tell myself I'm doing it for God, but it might just be because mellow-ish music is less motivational than fast, intense music. Either way, I need to check my heart and make sure I'm doing it for God and that I'm trying to train myself spiritually rather than have a nicer body.

What a surprise. I didn't know that enthusiasm meant in God in Greek. This is clearly saying that if we want to be true Christians, we have to have the enthusiasm to be true Christians. We can't be lazy with God's work, or he will punish us. And we also have to be trustworthy. If we are not, no one would trust us and we would have a bad reputation. And we should know that God is watching us the whole time. If we attempt to hide something, he will notice it right away. So, if we do his work with enthusiasm, then God can come up to us and say, "Well done."

God is watching what you do, even when no one else is -- "Work hard so God can say to you, "Well done.' Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work." (2 Timothy 2:15 LB)

Hahahah, we all know that one person in your class that works super hard when the teacher is there but slacks off or doesn't care when there is a supply teacher is there or one is watching.
I know it's not the best to think this way but its true:
Someone is always watching and it's God.

God has provided you with a situation for you to work with. I guess it is a test, so how far can you take it. Through some time, people come to that realization that real happiness in any job is from your intentions. If you have the wrong intentions, there is nothing I be fully satisfied with. You and God both know where your heart is.
As mentioned: enthusiasm.......en theos - in God (pretty cool).

I will see everyone tomorrow!
~Audrey~