Great Work
A few weeks ago, Brother Kory preached a sermon series called Blessed. As I was jotting down notes during the service one Sunday morning, he said something that caused me to pause and stop writing. He said, “The reason God blesses you is because he has a mission for you to accomplish.” Me? A mission to accomplish? And that mission is in Murray, Kentucky?
That sermon stayed on my mind (which is a good thing) for the next several days and I tried to dissect how that exactly played into my daily life. I’m in Murray, living the good life with three daughters and a fantastic wife, working in a meaningful career and surrounded by a great group of friends and family within a church we love. With that, I am blessed. Turn on the TV or listen to the nightly news or skim a newspaper headline—it won’t take long to realize just how blessed I (we) am. God has blessed me beyond measure and is something I am reminded of on a daily basis. Knowing that I am continually being blessed assures me I have a mission to accomplish.
So what exactly is that mission? That mission is to do “Great Work” every single day. It is a mission to keep in focus that I am doing great work on a project right here In Murray, Kentucky and don’t need to be stopped. It is a mission to keep doing that work no matter what “they say” the cause might be. It is a mission to block out all the distractions from the phone, the laptop, the iPad, and the news.
Nehemiah 6:3-4 says, “… so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.”
Wow; talk about blocking out all the noise to make sure the great work is getting done. Nehemiah was determined. He was focused. He knew he was doing great work and serving a Great God. He had a mission to accomplish.
As I begin to tackle this work week, let me be reminded of all the great work that can be done. The work that is done throughout the week in the many conversations I have with colleagues, the interactions with students on campus, or in the simple, mundane daily activities. It’s about His work…and making sure that it’s not just good work, but indeed great work!