I came across an article the other day that I thought was worth passing on. It certainly had some challenging thoughts in it! The writer made the statement that our work for the Lord should not be the most important thing in our life! Whoa! That can’t be right, you might be thinking. What could be more important in our life than working for the Lord?
The article goes like this (with abbreviations)……
“Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2b).
There is a great need among Christians to discern the difference between the Lord of the Work and the work of the Lord. How easy it is to confuse these two things and treat them as one and the same! Yet the difference before God is quite vast.
The writer was visiting a ministerial luncheon once, consisting of local pastors. He was introduced and asked to say a few words. He wondered what he could say to these pastors? But the Lord had already prepared his heart with a special word just for them. He said, “Brothers, I have come this day to remind you of one thing: the work of the Lord is NOT to be the most important thing in your life.”
He allowed his words to sink in for a moment and the silence was deafening. He could sense their thoughts as these pastors silently wondered what could possibly be more important than the work of the Lord. “Brothers, the Lord of the Work is more important than the work of the Lord,” he said, and then sat down.
He continued in this article by saying that he was still growing in this revelation. He had to be constantly reminded by the Lord, “Look, I am more important than your ministry. I am your priority. This is My work, not yours. I reserve the right to separate you for service or place you on the shelf. I reserve the right to send you forth or keep you at home. The Lord of the Work is more important than the work of the Lord. You keep saying this, but you do not always practice it.”
He had to come to realise that he had to be governed by the Lord of the Work, not the work of the Lord. The Lord of the Work does not change, but the work of the Lord is constantly changing. The Lord of the Work governs the time, the place, the people, the provision, and the assignment. All these things may change as the Lord of the Work sees fit. He sets one up and brings another down. He opens doors and closes them. He leads us to speak or bids us to remain silent. We want to go out and the Lord tells us to stay home. We want to stay home and the Lord tells us to go. He is the Lord of the Work.
We cannot understand everything that God does. In humility we need to bow down and say, “You are the Lord of the Work, and I am only a worker. You are the Master, and I am the servant. You know what You want and what You need far more than I do. I only see a portion, but you see all things. So I submit myself and what I do to You!”
This is the only safe way. Can we submit ourselves to the Lord of the Work? Can we offer Him our gifts, our talents, and our abilities on the altar and let Him direct things? I believe that almost every apostle, prophet, or pastor that has gotten off track has done so because of this very thing – making the work of the Lord preeminent over the Lord of the Work. God gives them a gift, or a calling, or a ministry, and they begin working at it until they no longer need to be governed by the Holy Spirit. People can get blasé about what they are doing for the Lord….they are almost too gifted. We need a little less gifting, and a lot more brokenness, learning to lean on the Lord instead of our own capabilities!
