Do you want to live well today? Of course you do. No one woke up this morning and said “ya know, I want to royally jack up this day of living.” No one intentionally woke up, realized it was Thursday and said “I think I’ll just waste today.” No, none of us. However, many of us have unintentionally jacked up days in the past. We’ve wasted precious days before. How do we make sure that doesn’t happen again today?
We all have a desire within to live well. The question is, how do we do that in the middle of real life unfolding here and now?
Today we’re whipping out the old King James version of the Bible and reading 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Within this scripture are 3 keys to living well today. Let’s break it down sister!
1. Be steadfast. Steadfast comes from the root word sit. To be steadfast, we must be seated and be settled in the truth.
We live very unsettled lives in an unsettled world. We are tense and uptight and anxious, always stirred up about something. God says sit down, settle down, be relaxed. Did you know you can be working and still be relaxed? God never intended for us to go through the days of our lives so unsettled. Don’t you know you are way too blessed to be stressed? Stress is the plan of the enemy. Have you fallen into his trap?
As long as you are stressed and anxious, you can never be seated in truth. You can never be steadfast in knowing who you are and whose you are. Today, take a seat in what you know to be true. Resist the temptation to be constantly stirred up and upset. You are chosen. You are forgiven. You are blessed. God is good. God is for you. He’s working all things together for good. Settle into that. Sit down into that truth today.
2. Be unmoveable. Like a solid rock.
James 1:6 says “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, being blown and tossed by the wind.” That’s what our doubt does, it causes us to be seasick. We’re constantly tossed around and stirred up on the inside. We stress over making the right decision, then we stress over the decisions we made, then we go back and forth, tossed around like a little boat on a big stormy ocean. And God says STOP IT. Be unmoveable.
Stop doubting God.
Stop doubting his plan for you.
Stop doubting your ability to walk in his plan for you.
Girl, your doubt is making you sick. Be unmoveable. Let your yes be yes, let your no be no. Have boundaries. I will do this, I won’t do that, and I will be unmoveable in my commitments.
So, we are steadfast meaning we are seated in truth. We are unmoveable and no longer tossed around by doubt. And finally our scripture today gives us the third key to living well.
3. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. Abounding means plentiful and abundant. So this is saying to be abundant in your work.
For you today this means GO THE EXTRA MILE. Stop doing the minimum. I bet there’s some areas in your life, like there are some areas in my life, that have started to pile up because I’ve been doing the minimum. That’s what creates a mess!
We’re just doing the minimum. Then we’re so overwhelmed because we’re so behind. We’ve just been getting by when God says be abounding in your work. Stop doing the minimum, go the extra mile.
Colossians 3:23 says “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord.” God wants to talk to you about your work today. Whether you go to an office, a factory, or a school. Whether you’re the boss or the employee, whether you’re punching the clock or running the shop, or the big boss of your house, you are working today, and God expects you to work for him. Everything you do, do it with all your heart as if you’re working for him. Because actually, you are. You are working for God. Everything you do today maters. Everything you do today leaves an impact.
Will you go the extra mile? Will you do it right? Will you finish it today? Yes for the mama cleaning house and cooking meals today, will you ABOUND today as you work? Will you not only fold that laundry, but put it away? God has trusted you with a family, show him your gratitude by abounding in your work today.
Finally our scripture tells us with these 3 things, being steadfast, unmoveable and abounding in your work, our “labor will not be in vain”. Girl, your reward is coming! It’s coming.
Sometimes it feels like we do all this work for nothing. But listen to me, God sees your work. And he will reward you. He’s been watching you closely. He sees when you have been faithful with little and he is preparing to give you more. If you will be faithful with exactly what you have today, your work will not be in vain. Your reward will come.