Mission Possible: The Blessing of Work

15 Jan Mission Possible: The Blessing of Work

January 14, 2024

Mission Possible – The Blessing of Work

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 NLT. 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23-24

Let’s use Isaiah, the same prophet/author from last week’s opening scripture, to go deeper and get a little personal in our life work assignment. Not a lot is known about Isaiah. He was a part of the royal family. He started his life’s work as a prophet of the Lord at about 20. Isaiah is the first of the major prophets, and his assignment extends across the reign of four kings for 60 years or more. He wrote 66 chapters covering his time’s political, moral, and social conditions, the messianic prediction, warnings, promises, and Israel’s glorious future. The 30-plus years on one job may differ from the norm nowadays, but being consistently good at whatever you do is still required.

The Mission – (The Important Assignment or Work.) One of my favorite movie series is Mission Impossible. After each assignment is explained in every movie and the old TV series, you will hear the statement, “Your mission if you choose to accept it.” God is a God of choice. He will never make you do anything you don’t want to do. Isaiah the prophet accepts the Mission after his vision, where he sees the Glory of God. Isaiah 6:8: “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” I believe what God wants from all of us is a simple Here I am, Lord, I am ready for the Mission, your plan for my life.

Preparation- Martin Luther King Jr. said “If a man is called a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'” 

There is a leader in all of us. How many jobs have you done in life that were contrary to what you felt like or wanted to do? My dad, for instance, picked cotton, weighed cotton in the South, worked in the steel mill, worked on a shipping dock with his uncle, painted houses when the steel mill was down, and did other things to make a living for himself and his family and built a legacy along the way. I have had several occasions where men who knew him said to me that my father was influential in their lives, or if they had met him earlier in life, they would be different people and further along in life. He was also a pastor of a church. Proverbs 16:3 says, Share your plans with the LORD, and you will succeed. Just know there will be some kind of work involved.

For the young people – there are very few overnight sensations, and the clock for success is not the same for everyone, nor is the definition. Work is required on the journey. Some work you may think is outside your dream or you feel beneath you. Well, news flash, it is all part of the preparation. For instance, Jesus Christ was a carpenter, Paul was a tent maker, Peter was a fisherman, and Luke was a physician. You will get there if you go through the process and don’t skip steps in the journey. 

Think you are too old? – Listen to Caleb at age 85 in Joshua 14: 10-13 “And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old… Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.” Working is not always punching the clock, and if you are still here with a reasonable portion of health, ask God what He needs you to do. As Dr. Myles Monroe says,” The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation.” 

The Battle – There is always a challenge, a test, and a proving of who you are. Once that is established, you won’t need to face or touch certain things, people, and situations again, and they will not affect you similarly if you remember and rehearse your victories. Deuteronomy 20:4 says, “For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” After David kills Goliath, he is accepted as a warrior, and even King Saul treats him as such. If it is new to you, it’s not unique to God, and every resource needed and required is at your disposal. Remember, God can use all you have been through. He does not waste anything. We just need to stay diligent in prayer, fasting, and warfare.

It is not about you – I have come to understand that it is not about you or me but everything in us that everyone around us needs. Every assignment/work is essential. We are our brother’s keeper and need good neighbors, influential leaders, parents, business owners, political figures, pastors, teachers, entertainers, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. We must carry out our life’s assignment His way. Just be who He called you to be, and remember, young or old, You’ve Got This! 💕

Theresa Woodard