Stick
It Out
And whatever you do…do it in the name
of the Lord Jesus…
Colossians 3:17
Glenn was tired. As a matter of fact he
couldn’t remember ever feeling so energy-depleted or needing to
summon the initiative to continue his task. Reminding himself
why he’d volunteered for this project, he said a quick prayer and
headed back inside, picked up the crowbar, and continued prying off
the water-damaged baseboard along the floor of the house.
Recent floods had left many homes
within the community in need of repair, so Glenn and several members
from their church had volunteered to help in reconstruction projects.
This was Glenn’s third such renovation, and what had at first been
exciting and fulfilling had now become mundane and tedious; day after
day, doing the same thing; tear out the water-damaged material so the
next crew could come along and restore the dwelling to a livable
residence.
The first two renovations had left him
with a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. So why the sudden
change in attitude? Glenn couldn’t summon the elusive feelings of
satisfaction he’d gotten from his earlier involvement. Repetition
had a way of stealing the joy of service. But he refused to quit. He
knew how much this meant to the homeowner.
†
It’s easy to enjoy the fruits of our
labor in the midst of new and exciting things. Repetition, however,
has a way of stripping the shine from the veneer and dulling the
beauty of our service because Satan sends discouragement our way.
Knowing Satan will try to steal the joy
in our service can work in our favor, for with that knowledge we can
refuse to give in to his attacks during boring, everyday-repetition.
When we commit our efforts to Christ we
work in His strength; in His light the dull and monotonous are
transfigured.
Paul urged the Colossians to commit
their hearts, in everything they did, to Jesus. Knowing human
tendency is toward pleasure and fulfillment, Paul repeated his
urgings in the twenty-third verse, “Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not
for human masters.”
Doing the glamorous is easy. Learning
to stick it out in the mundane is where character is constructed.
Prayer
“Lord, help me stay in
the game when boredom tries to get me to quit or give less than my
best. Teach me perseverance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
No comments:
Post a Comment