God Created Us To Work

Scripture: Psalm 139:13-16

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

Insights: The second truth I believe we learn from this passage is we are created to work.  You might be saying to yourself, “Scott, I don’t see work mentioned in these verses.”  I believe it is an implied truth found in David’s stanza, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.”  The reason I believe it is an implied reference to our work is because of the connection to God’s work.  Let me get a little technical with you.  The part, “I will give thanks to You” is linked to the part “And my soul knows it very well.”  The part, “for I am fearfully” is linked to the part, “are your works.”  The part “and wonderfully made” is linked to the part, “Wonderful.”  The stanza is an A, B, C—C, B, A pattern and very common in the psalms.  Because God’s work is mentioned and is tied to the fearfully part, it is a descriptor of our work.  In other words, we are capable of amazing feats as people.  In my sermon I referenced our sending men to the moon.  That work was a fearful prospect and points to mans incredible resolve to accomplish much.  The prospect of all man can do is fearful at times.  Think back to the Tower of Babel in Genesis and see what the Lord Himself said about humanity, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them (11:6).”  We are a fearful people when we work.  The amazing part is we can work like they did in Genesis chapter eleven for our own glory or for the glory of God.  This second type of work is what Jesus mentioned in Matthew 5:16 when He said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Beloved, we are to work in a fearful fashion in order to point people to God.  This kind of fear is more of an awe type of fear than a dread type of fear.  It is honoring not hindering.  Let us glorify God with our work.

Questions:

1. In what capacity do you work for the Lord?

2. Do you understand your work is one way in which you point people to Jesus?

Prayer: Father, let me work in such a fashion that others recognize a distinction in me.  I pray you will prompt their hearts and have them inquire as to why I work the way I do.  Grant me boldness when they do to tell them the story of Jesus.  Amen.