Working for the Lord

There are times in my life that I often question why I am working so hard. I become discouraged when something doesn't turn out exactly how I wanted and feel like all my hard work was for nothing. In times like this, I need to remember that I am not working for myself, or anyone else for that matter, I am working for the Lord. I am enabling myself to serve Him better and fulfill the duties He has called me to do. All of my efforts and prayers should be directed toward succeeding at what He is calling me to do.

Coming into college, my plan was to become a Pediatric Ophthalmologist. However, I quickly realized that was not God's plan for me. I did not enjoy my classes I was in and found it difficult to make myself work hard because my heart just wasn't in it. I came home after my first semester and expressed to several different people in my life that I knew this wasn't what I wanted, or what God wanted, for my life. My dad said something to me that has changed my career path completely and made me realize what my plan in life is, "Well baby sister (that's what he calls me), when you said you wanted to go to medical school I was going to support you know matter what, but to be honest I knew since you were 5 years old that you would be a lawyer some day." God was speaking to me through my dad that day to tell me that was always His plan for me- I would become a lawyer.

I am now in classes that are working towards what Christ has planned for me. One quote that has always stuck with me is, "You cannot pray for an A on a test and study for a B. You cannot pray for a faithful relationship and still live an unfaithful life. Moral of the story is you cannot pray for something and act less. Do not question my God and His abilities when your actions don't match your prayers. " I can pray all I want to become a lawyer, but if I'm not willing to put in the work it takes to get there, my actions are not godly actions.

People often rely solely on prayer as a substitution for actually working for what they want. They will justify it by saying, "If its meant to be then if I pray for it God will make it happen." However there are several separate occasions that hard work is referred to in the bible:

> "Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest." -Proverbs 20:4

>"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." -Colossians 3:23

>"Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become slave." -Proverbs 12:24

> "But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus" -Acts 20:24

These are just a few examples of what God says about hard work. If we are lazy and unwilling to put in the work, God will not fulfill His promises of success to us. God has a plan that takes our dedication of both prayer and hard work to accomplish. He put us on this earth for a reason- it is up to us to work diligently to serve Him. When God sees us doing our part, He will do His part and open doors that can not be shut by man, and we will accomplish more than we ever imagined.