The Upper Room 15 January 2024 Devotional
The Upper Room 15 January 2024 Devotional, Monday Message by Emily Carol Marszalek (Idaho, USA)
TOPIC: Working for the Lord
TODAY’S READING
Luke 21:1-4
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. – Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
MESSAGE: Preparing to graduate from university and commissioned as a military intelligence officer in the United States Army, I envisioned a highly successful career in the armed forces. I experienced health issues during my senior year of college, however, and I was medically discharged. My plans were dashed.
Reeling from disappointment, I accepted the first job I could find after searching for months. I found an entry-level position answering phones for a small business. I was disappointed and struggled with a poor attitude about my work. How will I possibly find fulfillment in a job like this? I wondered.
In Colossians 3:23, the apostle Paul encourages us to work at whatever we do with our entire hearts, as if working for the Lord. No job God has placed us in is unimportant. When we commit whatever we do to God, working willingly with everything we have, we honor God. Whether we are working as a CEO, custodian, teacher, secretary, or stay-at-home parent, God can help us to bear fruit for the kingdom. No job is small or insignificant because we do not serve a small or insignificant God.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, help us to commit everything we do to you and to remember that nothing we do is small in your eyes. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Devotion to God adds meaning to everything I do.
PRAYER FOCUS
Those disappointed by a change of plans
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together.