Punching the Clock...

June 9, 2009

Danielle Joyner Kelley

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24.

The other day a friend asked me what I mean when I say that I am “working for the Lord”. Does that mean that I only work for Him? Yes. Because I volunteer time to serve Him by writing about Him? Yes and No. I’m not volunteering anything. I am thanking Him for what I have.

Thanks to the Holy Spirit’s guidance I have an entirely different view of what it means to work for God. If you don’t quit your career to become a minister or a Christian author are you still working for Him? Could be. Even if you are cleaning bathrooms? If you believe you are, then you are. You don’t have to quit anything to work for the Lord.

In this scripture we are told “whatever” we do, and no certain occupations are listed. So no matter what you are doing, you can work for God. Often I hear others say out loud that they have their own company so they are their own boss, or that they work for “so and so” and can’t stand him or her. Who is their boss? Who is my boss? "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” John 19:10-11. He is my boss.

It doesn’t matter what I am doing, He is still my boss. If I want to lay in bed but know I need to wash the dishes, I have a Holy Spirit kicking me out of bed and telling me that I should wash them, and not only that, I am to wash them well. In every thing I do, I am working for God.

When I am alone, and no husband to see the fact the floor needs to be mopped, God still does. He never leaves me, and watches all I do. So I do it as if I am working for Him and not for man. God is not a part-time God, and we should not be part-time in serving Him either. We are to serve Him in everything we do, no matter how small it seems. Remember He is the One cheering for you when you do the smallest things such as take your first steps, get a pleasant phone call or email, or show kindness to someone. Nothing you do is small to Him.

Once you finally grasp this concept, and I’ll admit it took me a long time to do, you will not believe how much easier things become. Instead of procrastination, to which I am the queen, I know that there is something I must do and I have a desire to do it with everything good in me.

Truthfully, God makes it easy. When I complain about having to cook dinner, He reminds me of all the starving people across the world, and that I am lucky to have the opportunity. When I complain about cleaning He reminds me of all of the people who have no home or shelter to even desire to keep clean. Feeling His grace and feeling total gratitude to Him, I want to make Him proud.

Letting the world bog you down and convince you that you do not need to do something because this or that will happen does not work. Everything is a test of faith. I have been in a home that was falling into foreclosure and was forced to get out of bed and clean it anyway. It does not matter if I have the home for the next two years. What matters is that God blessed me with a place to live that very day, and to honor Him I clean it and show Him my thanks. I was never guaranteed tomorrow anyway.

In those moments when God sees you struggling and sees that you get up anyway and serve Him, even by household chores, He never forgets it. He knows the pain you are in, and He sees you moving forward anyway. There are no words to explain what He will do for you in return. Trust me, it is beyond all worldly explanation.



You have so many good talents in you that you don’t even realize. Think of how proud you are of yourself when you learn to do something new. You have those gifts in you all day every day, but you have to choose to use them. How do you figure out how to? You work for Him, and no one else and He will show you.



Working for a time clock where every minute is rewarded 100 times over is well worth it. How often do people feel their bosses take them for granted? How often do people complain that their employer does not notice the hard work they put in? Imagine if you had a boss that gave you a $1,000 bonus because you worked a weekend? God goes beyond that, trust me.



The truth is that people usually focus on the wrong employer. If you want to be recognized start working for the One who matters most. In every thing you do give Him your all. He gave you His. Watching His Son die a horrible death was not easy at all I’m sure. At any moment Jesus could have said, “Enough. This is not worth it. This hurts way too much and the very people I am dying for are taking me for granted because they do not believe in me”. But He didn’t. He never gave up from the moment of His last breath until right now, and He never will.



He is my boss. He never gave up and I will not either. I’m not taken for granted. I am appreciated and loved. I have 24/7 around the clock help if I do not know what to do. I have motivation and encouragement and a host of cheerleading angels around me at all times.



Now that is a job worth keeping…