God's Blessing in Every Good Work
And every work that he (Hezekiah) undertook, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered. (II Chronicles 31:21)
II Chron. 31:1-10, 20-21; Ps. 119:2; Matt. 5:16; I Thess. 1:3; Titus 2:7; Heb. 13:16
What Is God Saying?
Hezekiah was a devout believer and a hard worker. His faith and work brought joy to others. We read in II Chr. 30:26, ‘There was joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon ... there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.’ This echoed what was written in II Samuel and Kings, but he was writing from a different perspective. Living in about 400 B.C., his purpose was to tell the people who returned from the Babylonian exile the good and important things that happened before the exile. He focused on worship and kingship. They needed to know how God's people could get back on track.
The Chronicler credits Hezekiah with bringing about a reformation in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. In a time of disunity, fear, and chaos, he re-opened and cleansed the Temple. He broke down the idols that Ahaz had set up. He restored the worship of God to its rightful place. He trusted God. He worked for God and he and his people prospered.
How Does This Apply To Us?
Worship and work—the combination is unbeatable. Breathing in is worship. Breathing out is work. We do not work so God will love us. We work because God already loves us. We read that every work Hezekiah undertook, he did with all his heart. We cannot do everything, but everything we do can be done with all our hearts seeking our God. We work because God has done so much for us. Love can do no less.
Pray With Me
Lord, help me to do every work in Your service with a heart that seeks to know You and love You. Thank You for the health that enables me to work. Thank You for the opportunity to give service. All my hands find to do, all my mind seeks to explore, all my tongue tries to express, I do in Your service, in line with Your commands. Every work I do in quiet seclusion, I do for you: writing letters, planning a schedule, reading a book, praying. Every work I do in busy activity, I do for You: conversation, helping someone struggling with a load, weeding a garden, driving with courtesy. I do every work in every circumstance at every time in Your service and in accordance with Your commandments.
Let me discover the secret that will make the resolution possible. I can do the difficult work, I can do the considerate thing, I can be quietly confident in the middle of noisy intrusions, I can tackle the unpleasant duty and find joy in drudgery when I do every work, as Hezekiah did, with all my heart seeking You. When I see work to do, I would look beyond it to the One who rewards all good work. I would look within it to find the blessing of Your presence in every good work. I would look behind it to find the glory that You can bring to the most commonplace task. This is what it means to prosper. I seek no greater reward.
In the name of Him who shunned no work of the Father. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
There is truth in the adage, ‘When you pray, pray as if everything depended on prayer. When you work, work as if everything depended on your work.’ They are not opposites, nor are they separate. Prayer leads to work that needs to be done, loads that need to be lifted, words that need to be spoken and letters that need to be written. Hezekiah sought God and this led to doing every work with all his heart.
