Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cold and gloomy on this new day of a new week and my Heart could so easily follow the “mood” of the weather IF not for my time in the Presence of a Mighty God at sunrise. I didn’t see any wildlife…a didn’t hear a bird chirping…it seemed as though nature was sleeping-in late on this gloomy new day. I know eventually, things will come to life around the farm and all God’s creatures will be scrapping for food just like do every other day. Nature doesn’t need to worry about its subsistence and neither do I. God is our Provider, so all we need to do is Trust and do our part to work. Nature knows how things work because they intuitively know the Nature of God while man has the written Word to serve as a reminder -“The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” Isn’t that the way you look at work too?

I don’t know all there is to know about the Living God – that’s not possible on this side of Heaven – but I know a lot and I hunger for more each day. I’ve seen Him move mountains in my Life and I’ve seen countless miracles. I know He will never leave me nor forsake me and that He never leaves His Throne. I know He listens to every word I speak to Him and that He cares about my Life. I know that He knows every hair on my head – He has stored up every single tear I’ve shed – and that He has prepared a Home for me that is more beautiful than I can imagine. I know He’s my Provider and I Trust Him to take care of me…BUT I know that “the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” so I do my part to meet my needs too. I work like it depends on me, and pray like it depends on Him! Although I enjoy long, leisurely visits on the front porch with a cup of the best coffee on the planet…there isn’t a lazy bone in my body and I’m working like never before. This is the Key to a long and fruitful Life.

I’m not sure where the notion of retirement came from because I see no mention in the Bible of anyone celebrating life by sitting back doing as little as possible. I’m not sure where the notion of expecting the government to meet the financial needs of its people came from because I see no mention in the Bible of anyone sitting back on government support. I don’t know where the notion of sitting under an oak tree praying for our needs to be met WITHOUT the willingness to lift a finger came from because I see no mention of spiritual slugs in the Bible. His Word says “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” and we can take THAT to the bank, for sure. But God always requires action and He always honors hard work. There’s no telling what the world would look like if Adam & Eve hadn’t sinned in the garden that day, but that was the game-changer (in more ways than one) for all of us. Easy Street was transformed into Labor Lane and the rest is history in terms of the requirement for a man to WORK.

I KNOW God will meet ALL my needs but I’ll keep working hard as long as I’m able. NOT because I have an insatiable appetite for money, but because I am confident that “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” – and I thank God for a healthy mind and a strong body to work. But it’s more than that for me. I know the more I can make, the more I can give away! When you look at it that way, how and why would anyone make the choice NOT to work?