What Appear to be Messes Can Be What God Blesses
“Lord, this is a mess,” I complained to my Heavenly Father;
while staring at the huge stack of papers in my hands. No sooner had the words come out of my mouth, that I sensed His reprimand, “It’s not a mess. It’s holy. I’ve given it to you over the last year.”
Convicted of my bad attitude, I looked at the stack of papers and understood how wrongly I’d viewed them. What God had given me for a new Bible study was not a mess. The hours of study, prayer, and writing was holy.
God reminded me that what we do in His will is to be treated as holy.
For instance, our children’s lives may appear to be a mess. Our marriage may appear to be a mess. Our business may appear to be a mess. Our volunteer commitments may appear to be mess. But, are any of those “messes” if they’re God-ordained responsibilities He’s entrusted to us? Hardly. Yet, do we sometimes treat them as “things” to get done; “wearisome” meetings; “burdensome” to do lists; or sometimes even “boring”? Possibly.
You Are Significant to God
The Seamstress and the Priest
I was reminded of a verse God used years ago to show me that no person and no task is insignificant in His kingdom. It’s Exodus 28.3, “You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to me.”
This verse points to the value that God places on people and the work to which He calls them. Consider the following:
- God knows us as individuals… the seamstress and the priest.
- God values us and our work in His kingdom.
- God takes it upon Himself to endow us with “the spirit of wisdom” to do that to which He calls us.
If you continue reading in Exodus 28, you find the incredible detail that God dictated to the seamstresses for how the high priest’s garments should be designed and sewn,
The Workers of Walls and Gates
Another example of God’s interest in individuals and and taking note of their “daily grind” in “messes” is found in the book of Nehemiah. The walls of Jerusalem were literally a mess – fallen, toppled stones, burned gates, rubble to the point that when Nehemiah was doing his initial inspection of the condition of the walls, his house could not pass through a portion of it. When he was mocked for setting his mind to rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall, Nehemiah answered, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build…” Nehemiah 2:20.
God saw every person who dug in and worked on what looked to be a “mess,” but God had chosen to bless. The names of those who tackled the “mess to blessed” project are listed along with the exact part of the wall on which they worked: Eliashib – Sheep Gate, Hassenaah’s son – Fish Gate, Meredith made repairs, Joiada – Old Gate, Malchijah – Tower of Furnaces, Hanun – Valley Gate, Malchijah – Refuse Gate. There are many more names listed in Nehemiah 2-3.
We could read page by page from Genesis to Revelation of God noticing individuals and seeing from heaven their labor in the day in, day out grind of life. Most importantly, we note that not only did God see the individuals in their labors, but He was on their side, gave them favor, and blessed them.
What is you labor of love today? Is it raising children, being a caregiver, faithfully showing up at a job that isn’t’ easy and takes every ounce of your strength to tackle? Today, look at the work of your hands; then lift them to God and ask Him to give you eyes to see that the work of your hands is holy and being done “unto Him.”
Heavenly Father, to us and to others, it may appear we’re simply “digging in” to a job; but to You, with Your eyes on us and our work, it is holy. Help us serve You well and take note of every blessing You give us. In Jesus’s name, amen.