Christ in my work, even my hobbies

A hobby is usually some pastime that takes the mind off daily chores and responsibilities. The focus is on the task at hand, whether golfing, model building, or sewing. However, there is no record that Jesus, His disciples, or the Apostle Paul ever took a day off to fly kites. Yet regardless of what they did for leisure, the Bible has plenty to say about daily work and ordinary activities.

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:9)

In its context, this verse refers to those actively engaged in building the kingdom of God. He is their partner in the work for no man can do this without Him. However, there are other verses about work, even about other ordinary activities like eating, drinking, and by implication, hobbies.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23–24)

Chambers says I should beware of any work for God which enables me to evade concentration on Him. These verses tell me that I should also beware of doing anything that does not consider Jesus as my Lord and Savior. This includes my activities as a quilter. Even though I often pray while cutting and piecing fabric, I am aware how easily that activity can pull my mind away from everything else, even God.

Chambers also says a great many Christian workers can go to the extreme by worshiping their work. Again, these verses suggest that such worship cannot be limited to Christian ministry. Even though many complain about their jobs, some people do ‘worship’ their work, and some even ‘worship’ their hobbies. While enjoyment of work is okay, the Bible says that God gives that enjoyment — my worship should never slide from Him to adulation of any joyful activities that He gives me.

Another thought is relating work to play. A child plays (which is ‘work’ for him) with delight and without any regard for it being tedious. If my activity is no longer joyful, it can soon be resented. This child can become tired, frustrated, even angry. It also happens to employees, and to those engaged in their hobbies.

For example, some say about quilting, “I’ve no patience for that.” They do not know the joy of it, and perhaps do not experience the Lord’s joy in other ‘work-related’ activities. They certainly haven’t realized that patience isn’t required to experience pleasure in work or a hobby, only the ability look to God in the doing of it. He gives joy and can make work more like child play.

That can change, and if it does then my hobby or other activities become empty, without freedom and without delight. If my mind and body become burdened by them, I need to examine my motivations and again rely on God for the blessing of Himself in my work.

Yet as Chambers says, there is another side to this joy from God. When my concentration is on Him, and when all of life is free and under His dominance, and when I trust in Him alone, I can feel alone. If that sense of aloneness gets to me, then I could also bog down. My responsibility is to keep in constant touch with God, without anything hindering my relationship with Him.

All that annoys or frustrates goes away when I remember that Jesus Christ set me free to pour out whole-hearted devotion — in doing whatever my hands finds to do. 

Riches and happiness come from the same source

Most of us have heard that money cannot buy happiness. I’ve not taken a survey to prove that rich people are not happy, but I know two things: the ability to become rich comes from God and happiness comes from God. My question could be ‘why not me’ but it isn’t . . .

God says, “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth . . .” (Deuteronomy 8:18) but that does not mean the recipient will be happy. God says, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

God gives wealth, sometimes to people who do not have the ability to become rich, but because He wants to bless them. He said to Isaac, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” (Genesis 26:24–25)

The second passage from today’s readings was written by a rich man. He said, “There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.” (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2)

No wonder it is said that money cannot buy happiness. The wisest man in the world was also the richest, but he realized that apart from the blessing of God, there was no power to enjoy what he had. (Some might point out that having several hundred wives may have contributed to this discovery!)

The next reading in the NT is also about money and the love of money. This time, Jesus is talking to a rich young man who wanted to know how what good thing he could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him about what he was doing already and the young man claimed to be keeping the commandments, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” This was a test! The entire Bible makes it clear that giving away all your money will not grant eternal life. The result shows that the rich man didn’t pass the test. “When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:20–22)

After he left, Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

The disciples were in a religious culture that considered riches a blessing from God, so when they heard this they were greatly astonished, and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:23–26)

Salvation is God’s doing. It isn’t about what we can do, or what money can do for us. In the case of this young man, money became his idol, his god. He said ‘no’ to eternal life because he could not part with his wealth, but even as he made that decision, he went away sorrowful.

Jesus wanted the disciples to know that wealth gained by whatever means does not replace the care of God. Had the man given up his riches, God would have taken care of him. Jesus said, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:29–30)

He followed up with a story about an owner of a vineyard who hired people during the day, offering each the same wage. At the end of the day, each one was given a denarius. Of course those hired first thought they would receive more. They grumbled, but the owner said, “I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” (Matthew 20:8–16)

We use money to divide people into classes, to make impressions, to feed our egos and appetites, but God uses it to take care of us and so we can take care of others. Our status is never about money for life under Christ is not about cash or anything else that will be left behind when He comes for us.

Instead, every time I sell something or somehow gain some money, my first thoughts should always be, “What does the Lord want me to do with this?”

Joy in the fire

At the end of our ‘small group’ Bible study, everyone offered prayer requests. Almost all of these concerned extreme situations. One was for a family whose small child is not eating and wasting away. Another was for a blended family with one daughter who is cutting herself. Two more concerned a woman awaiting surgery and a family whose son has been arrested for murdering his girlfriend. After we prayed for each of these difficulties, I still feel heavy for the people who are suffering.

Today’s devotional reading indirectly refers to suffering of a worse kind. It is from a passage near the end of the Bible that speaks about the end of days and the wrath of God. The focus is on those who have come through trials and have won in the battle against evil. God has given victory to His people and handed them harps. They are filled with joy and as the next verses say, sing praises.

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses… (Revelation 15:1–3)

Even as I think about winning over troubles combined with my burden for those we prayed for who are now in trouble, I’m aware that not everyone comes out of trials with a harp and a song. Sometimes suffering produces “a loss of what was noblest and most attractive in them” before their troubles happened. Those gracious in health become crabby and irritable in sickness. Those generous in wealth turn stingy after poverty overtakes them.

Trials can stir up sluggish people to a greater passion for life, but trails can also crush the passionate and send them defeated to their graves. How then can the Bible depict trials as something God can use for good?

I cannot speak for others, but I notice in myself that difficult situations that seem to break my life in pieces also reveal my flaws. If I am happy only when comfortable, then my zest for life is based on ease rather than on the joy of the Lord, a joy that never depends on circumstances. Because of this, I can see the value of trials. God wants me to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and I will not do this unless I am helpless.

While no one likes being helpless, the joy of the Lord is available to the people of God, and this amazing joy does overcome physical and emotional pain, loneliness, restrictions, difficult relationships, fears, financial reverses and disappointments. He has a way of giving victory that may not include reversal of bad situations. In fact, Jesus Christ somehow makes it possible to give strength IN the trial.

Such strength is not about ‘grin and bear it’ or even a dogged determination to see it through to the end. It is about letting the fire burn away the dross and even being glad to see it go. This great revelation does not come from reading about it, but from experiencing this unexpected result in those dreaded trials and being forever convinced of the permanent value of suffering. Besides showing me my needs as I walk with Him, trials are also about God handing me a harp in the midst of suffering and putting songs of praise in my heart. 

The source of Joy

A mild sinus infection is giving me a dull headache. After a few days, I’m feeling grouchy and impatient. Nothing like a slight nagging pain to reveal what I rely on for my joy.

I’ve tried extra sleep, pain killers, salt water sprays (which will eventually fix the infection), and as a distraction, writing, sketching, sewing, television, reading, and music. Instead of helping, none of these have made me feel any better.

This morning, the Lord directed me to a short verse that identifies the source of Christian joy and reminds me that even in this, my comfort and joy is not found in pills, medications, using my skills, or even in music.

Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.” (Psalm 87:7)

Here, the Word of God points to those involved in worship. They sing and dance, but they know that the source of their ability is God, not themselves.

With this verse, Oswald Chambers reminds me that all natural talent has no value when it comes to serving Christ. That is, any abilities that I have apart from Christ cannot produce eternal fruit. I must rely on Him and the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in me to effectively serve God.

This principle is also true regarding my own spiritual condition. That is, to be joyful I cannot rely on my own resources. They may not be wrong in themselves, but my “solutions” cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit in me. Joy is never the result of things I can do apart from Christ.

Isaiah said, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3), echoing the praises of the singers and dancers in the psalms. That is, he knew that their music was lovely and gave them much delight, but it was God who supplied the very life within them.

In that same vein, God supplies my life too. Because of that, He is the joy of my life, the very source of it. Before I was saved, I did many things to give me peace and a sense of well-being. However, those are nothing compared to the joy of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit to produce joy, even when life is upside-down.

I’m convicted by this. Instead of going deeper into self-pity over present discomfort, God wants me to go deeper into Him, to find the joy that He gives, the joy that overcomes the world.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” (John 7:37–38)

This living water, this joy, is in Him. It is not in anything else, not my abilities nor the pleasures and “fixers” of life. They might work for others, but He shows me that if I want true joy, even when my head aches, I need to run to Him. He also reminds me that this living water is to flow outward; it is for others as much as it is for me.

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Jesus, it is easy to trust You and enjoy life when all goes well. You have undergirded me in the past with the power of Your Spirit to produce peace and joy in my heart, even in tough times. Today, this fruit of joy can be mine also. While I need to take care of the physical needs, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I need to be filled with Your Spirit that I might praise You and be a blessing to those around me.

Joy needs no reasons . . .

We are waiting for our connecting flight from Heathrow in London to Edinburgh in Scotland. I have a few minutes to be still and pay attention to what God wants me to think about and do today.

It is an unselfish thing, according to my devotional reading. He simply wants me to be joyful when others are joyful.

The verse is, “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15). On the surface, this seems a command to be people-centered, to forget about myself so that when others are happy about something, I can be happy with them. However, I think this goes deeper than that.

I just started reading a book about the passion of God for His glory. It says something that I have been thinking about for a long time; that God is a joyful God and takes great delight in giving us His joy. Our problem is that we are terribly preoccupied by trying to be happy without His help.

Once I thought if I had a big house I would be happy. For many people, that big house could be a fancy car or a solid marriage or a trip around the world. The dreams and wishes come and go, but whatever we want, it is seldom God. Oh, I want Him too, but how long it has taken me to realize that He is all I need.

Move the clock ahead a few hours. (My time in Heathrow was cut short because someone announced that the departure gate for our flight changed and we had to hike 10-12 minutes to another one.) We are in a quaint little cottage in Perth. It is lightly but steadily raining. The flowers are in full bloom. Everything is green and lovely and very, very wet.

I’ve been thinking all afternoon about the joy of God. As I do, He seems to be delighted that I am because He is flooding me with it. Our hosts are joyful too. I just noticed that they have filled the bookshelf in our suite with Christian books. The reason for their joy is almost certainly because they know the God who gives joy. They have it, and it is easy to be joyful with them.

This is what this verse means. Oh, it could be that I should be happy when a friend wins a prize or accomplishes something remarkable, but “rejoice with those who rejoice” is about sharing the joy of Jesus with others who have His joy. This is a joy that doesn’t need a reason. It is just here in our hearts. God is with us and when we share in His joy, He is glorified because we are demonstrating what He is like.

God needs no reasons for joy because this is part of who He is. Circumstances can’t mess with His joy because He knows all about everything and what He is going to do about all of it. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows that ultimately, Jesus wins, and I know it too. It would take a lot more than a damp day in Scotland to rob me of His joy, and even of the delight in being able to share it with others.

His Joy

Most Christians I know are happy people. Any thoughts I might have had that this joy comes only because we are blessed in our circumstances was banished when we traveled to China. In a city of more than four million souls, the only joyful faces I saw were on those who are Christians.

The joy of the Lord is a strange thing. It is not the same as the happiness that the world gives. That happiness depends on circumstances, but the joy of the Lord depends on nothing but Him.

The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk knew this joy. He had prayed for God’s intervention because His people were living in sin, but was startled when God told him His solution; He would use an evil nation to bring them to their senses. Habakkuk questioned God using a nation to punish “those more righteous than themselves,” yet expressed his faith that God would do the right thing. His book ends with this declaration of faith:

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Notice that for Habakkuk (and countless other people who trust God), the joy of the Lord does not depend on circumstances.

I can remember the first time I discovered this. I had a terrible backache and couldn’t get out of bed. As I rested, I began praising God. As I did, I was filled with an almost unbearable joy, a joy without description. My back still ached. No miraculous healing, nothing else happened, but that joy sustained me through my pain, even lifted me above it. To this day, I cannot remember how long the pain lasted or when it left me, but I do remember that amazing and surprising joy.

We were given the same joy during a crisis with one of our children. An early morning call informed us that our daughter and her friend and the company van were all missing. These girls were only thirteen and we lived in a city where child predators were known. The other girl’s parents were frantic, but Bob and I were filled with joy—right from the moment the telephone rang and woke us up. It was absolutely weird, yet we were calm and calmed the other parents.

It turned out that the girls were only a few blocks away. They could not drive that big van and their adventure turned into a long, cold night sitting in a huge vehicle parked by a curb. They were afraid to walk home and terribly chagrined when they arrived. Sustaining joy remains in our memory as a tribute to the power of God.

This joy is not my own doing. It bubbles up when I least expect it. How else could I feel joyful in pain or joy with a child in peril? (And, no, I was not on drugs!) That joy comes from Jesus Christ, not from me trying to put on a happy face or making an effort to be strong or cheerful. It is just there.

Actually, it has a foundation. It is based on a deep knowing that God is in control, yet I sometimes forget that He is, or am distracted by tragic circumstances. When that happens, the One who lives in my heart gives joy to me anyway, and that is beyond my comprehension.

There are times when expressing this joy is not appropriate. Imagine the reaction of others if the joy of the Lord became a big smile on my face when talking with them about terrible things. I may know that God is in control (because Jesus in me knows), but others may not. If it bubbled over, my joy over that assurance would be totally misinterpreted.

Also, I’m not sure I can say with Habakkuk that I would be joyful if everything good was gone, but I do know that even if that happened, joy is possible because God gives that joy, not circumstances. Joy is a by-product of faith and has very practical results. As Nehemiah 8:10 says, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Joy might be a bit easier when life is going well, but God made us so that when we feel joy, we can handle almost anything. For that, He gives me His joy and that joy carries me through my trials and challenges as I “rejoice in the Lord . . . and joy in the God of my salvation.”

Eternal joy vs. temporary stuff

Yesterday we went to a pipe band concert that was just a little different. As with most Scottish bands, there were drummers, dancers, and a song or two, but this presentation included a nine-person jazz band that could do amazing things by combining Aretha Franklin with bagpipes. For me, a lover of jazz and bagpipes both, this was incredibly delightful.

The audience agreed; everyone was smiling, clapping, enthusiastic. What was weird is that we went to the same concert (or similar), about two years ago, but I cannot remember being there. I love pipe bands and this one (in our city’s incredible Winspear music center) offers an exceptional performance. How could I so totally forget it?

Yesterday held another fascination. Personal issues (involving people whose permission I would need to publish details) have not changed. The storms I wrote about yesterday still raged then and into today, but when God urged me to rejoice in Him, my mood changed.

The joy of the Lord is hard to describe. I sit here and just rest my mind and I can feel it bubbling inside me like an artesian well deep in the cleft of a rock. Joy is there. If I focus on the problems and storms, joy does not vanish but the sense of it is muffled by anxiety and sorrow, and I know if I remain in that mode, this joy could be overwhelmed.

However, if I think about the power of God, His sovereign purposes, and His promises to meet needs and answer prayers, joy gurgles like a happy brook, washing over stones and carrying away sorrows like leaves tossed in its flow. The joy of the Spirit is more powerful and will not quit.

My devotional reading today tells how God created us in such a way that only He can truly satisfy the needs of our hearts. Because He knows that, and I don’t (or at least I didn’t at first), He understands the importance of me being detached from fleshy and worldly pleasures. How else would I discover the grandness of His joy if I were focused on other sources?

He created me with a God-shaped void that I’ve tried to fill it with all sorts of things which, of course, do not fit. All around me I see people who are obsessed trying to make their chosen ‘things’ fill that void. These are driven people. Some are still having fun because they have not yet realized the void remains unfilled, but most are unhappy and fearful. They know something is missing, but don’t know what it is.

God is Enough says, “We must come to the end of everything that is not God in order to find our joy in God alone,” not that God is out to rob us of all things, but to help us discover that His joy is superior. The joy of other things come and go, obviously. How else would I forget the joy of that concert two years prior? Obviously it delighted me because this one did, but I do not recall that delight. It didn’t fill the void.

The joy that Jesus gives is here, inside me, not depending on what goes on out there. I never have to struggle trying to remember it. My big struggle is in trying to keep my focus on Him, the One who so freely gives it to me.

The Psalmist wrote, “Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.” (Psalm 43:2-3)

Those verses remind me that my enemy is not flesh and blood but Satan, the one Jesus called a liar and a destroyer (Ephesians 6 and John 8). Satan tells me that only this thing will make you happy, only that event will give you lasting peace and joy. When I follow his line of thinking, my focus goes off God and my faith is derailed, but when God gives light and truth, and when I respond by turning my eyes and heart toward Him, I rediscover once again that He is my exceeding joy. He fills the holes in my heart, and He is enough.