"Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy."
1 KINGS 14-15
11Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. 12He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. 13He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 15He brought into the temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
JOHN 1:1-28
9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
JOURNAL
Lately I have been confronted with the difficulty of work in a deeper way than I expected. Rejection, silence, uncertainty, and effort without immediate results can wear on the soul if we are not careful. There are moments where discouragement creeps in and whispers that if the reward is not coming quickly enough then maybe the work itself is not worth it. But the more I sit with that tension, the more I realize that God never intended work to simply be a mechanism for reward. Work itself is a blessing because it shapes us. It exposes us. It teaches us obedience, endurance, humility, and faithfulness.
Most of us naturally want satisfaction now. We want affirmation, visible progress, recognition, and reassurance that our labor matters. Yet some of the deepest work God does within us happens precisely when those things are absent. In those moments we are forced to confront why we are working in the first place. Are we working only to receive something back, or can we learn to work from obedience, gratitude, and love? That is what strikes me so deeply about Jesus in John 1. The Creator of the universe stepped into his own creation and the world did not recognize him. He came to his own people and many rejected him. He healed people who still doubted him, loved people who betrayed him, and served people who mocked him. Yet he kept going because his purpose was rooted in the Father, not in the approval of man.
That truth confronts me because I can see how easily my own motivation becomes attached to outcomes. Rejection has a way of exposing idols. It reveals how much of my peace can become dependent upon success, comfort, affirmation, or visible results. King Asa in 1 Kings remained fully committed to the Lord even when obedience required discomfort, sacrifice, and difficult decisions. He removed idols and confronted corruption because faithfulness mattered more than convenience. That same invitation stands before all of us. To continue working with integrity when no one notices. To continue serving when there is no immediate return. To continue giving our best even when the outcome feels uncertain.
What I am beginning to realize is that there is a hidden joy found in that kind of obedience. When I stop demanding that work constantly reward me, I become free to experience the joy hidden inside the work itself. The joy of discipline. The joy of surrender. The joy of becoming someone who remains faithful regardless of circumstance. That kind of joy cannot be taken away because it is no longer dependent upon results. It is rooted in purpose. Rooted in obedience. Rooted in God himself.
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