Effective Work
“But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
Today’s Text: 1 Corinthians 16:1-12 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Who thinks like that? I’m don’t think I have ever met someone who is confronted by opposition from many people and thinks, “a great door for effective work has opened to me.”
Most of the time, when Christians face opposition, their instinct is to think that God has placed a barrier in front of them and is leading them in a different direction.
But then I realize, that is how life is. Life always comes with opportunities for work, sometimes effective work, alongside opposition, and sometimes opposition from many people. And I think it’s worth reflecting on that principle a little deeper.
First, if no opportunities for effective work come, could it be that we’re just not pursuing any passion or calling? Sometimes, we just go through life working just to work—or living just to work, or working just to live.
But we were never meant to separate out life and work. In the beginning, everyone was either a farmer, a hunter, a home builder, or a home maker. And that work was supposed to be fruitful and fulfilling. Fruitful and fulfilling work is effective work. Of course, sin entered the picture and made work a toil.
Second, could it be that the more effective the work is, the stronger the opposition becomes? Of course, that can only be because we live in a broken world filled with sin.
In a world filled with sin, our priorities are not aligned with God’s priorities. And so the opposition is to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The opposition is to seeking and saving the lost. The opposition is to building up the church or Jesus Christ.
And strangely enough, that opposition can happen even inside the church.
Finally, where there is a calling and a passion, both effective work and opposition go hand in hand. And so, I need to rejoice in the effective work, don’t let the opposition get me down, and praise God no matter what.
Father, You are holy, righteous, awesome in power, gracious, merciful, and king. And You are faithful in all things and over all things. I praise You for You are good, and Your lovingkindness, faithfulness, and mercy endure forever. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
