Being in transition is not easy! It can be extremely difficult to wait on the next season in life, a job promotion, a spouse, a child, healing, etc. Oftentimes we feel that the Lord has forgotten us. It seems as if he has left us sitting by the wayside waiting while he's leading others to what we feel should be our blessing. I don't know about you, but when I'm in transition, it seems like everybody I know is receiving the very thing that I'm waiting on. We must beware of these feelings however, because they can be a trick of the enemy to cause us to covet and become impatient. God's timing is perfect, and his ways are not our ways. Instead of becoming jealous of what others are receiving, we must rejoice with them knowing that our time is coming. GOD NEVER BREAKS A PROMISE! If he said it would happen...it will. He never leaves us or pushes us to the side. He wants what's best for us and therefore does everything in due season.
One of Bro. Cole's points that he made was to "work worshipfully." He made the statement that whatever we are doing, we should do our very best at it. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Colossians 3:23 restates this idea and adds, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Everything we do should be done with our very best efforts. What a witness it is in your workplace, home, or church to do your best at every task. When we give something our all, we worship God. He has given us the ability to work for him, and he gives us the opportunities to work for him. We are not only disobeying God when we don't give something our all, but we are not going to receive all the blessings that he wants to give us when we do something half-heartedly. Think about it...if you hire someone to mow your grass and they only do half the yard, are you going to be satisfied with their work? No! What makes the Lord any different?
Another part of working worshipfully found in Ecclesiastes 9:10 is to be looking or searching out ways to work for God. Notice it says "Whatever your hand FINDS to do..." To find something, you must be looking for it. There are way too many complacent Christians who are content with sitting back and letting everyone else do the work. We don't want to be bothered with the work of God, because we have our own agendas we want to see fulfilled. This will not lead to the abundant life that God wants for us if we are not seeking out opportunities to work for him. If you don't know what to do, go to your pastor or a church leader and ask for a job. There is no job too small or insignificant in God's kingdom.
In 2004, there was a movie released starring Tom Hanks called The Terminal. This film was about an immigrant who was detained for a very long amount of time at JKF airport. He could not get into the US because of complications with his passport, and he couldn't go back to his native country because of war. Hanks' character was told to wait in an area called a terminal. While staying in the terminal, Hanks' character sets to work. He finds ways to make money to buy food, plays matchmaker for a catering car driver and a customs officer, and falls in love with a flight attendant. Being in the terminal didn't stop this man from surviving or from helping others. In fact, he used his waiting time at the airport to bring good to many people.
If you are in a time of transition, there is no better thing to do then to continue to work worshipfully. Don't be discouraged in times of transition. Be encouraged as Sis. Delores said. God's taking you somewhere great! Work worshipfully in your transition. In my education classes, they taught us that it is vitally important to not lose any time during transitions. This could be moving from one subject to another, one activity to another, or one class to another. During transitions, an educator could sing a song or have some type of daily routine so that the students don't "check-out." In our spiritual times of transition, the same principles need to be applied. We shouldn't be losing any valuable time waiting. Instead, we need to work worshipfully while we wait. A wonderful pastor's wife said it like this: "Turn your waiting room into a work room." In other words, don't ever stop just because things are changing. Keep working through the change.
As I stated before, transitions aren't easy. Change is usually not enjoyable but is extremely necessary. Regardless of the difficulty, we can't put God's work on hold just because we are waiting on the next step. We need to work through the transition to see God's kingdom grow. "WHATEVER your hand finds to do..." Let's give it everything we've got this week to work worshipfully. The Father is worthy of our best.
Thank you Ashlee. Very thought provoking.
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