Ecclesiastes 9:11, "I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned: but time and chance happen to them all." Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Think

"Rise and Grind." "Good things come to those who hustle." These statements underscore the fact that we want to believe that the person who works the hardest and does the best work will win in the end. But, the best team doesn't always win. The hardest working employee doesn't always get the promotion. The person who does everything right doesn't always get the results they want. If we put all of our trust in our work, those moments that don't work out can be devastating. That doesn't mean we abandon hard work. We just don't rely on hard work alone. We acknowledge there are things out of our control and trust God in those areas. Trust is not abandoning our responsibility to work hard; it's doing everything we can do while leaning on God to do the things only He can do. We show up for work every day, bringing our best and trusting God to provide the new client, promotion, or payday. We obey God's relational boundaries and believe that following Him leads to the healthiest relationships. We commit to spending time with God on a daily basis and place our faith in Him to give us what we need. Trusting in our work alone eventually leads to disappointment. But trusting in God gives us the freedom to work on what we can control knowing God will take care of the rest.

Act

Where are you placing more trust in your own hard work than you are in God? Ask God to show you what it looks like to still work hard in that area while trusting Him to only what He can do.

Pray

God, please make me aware of when I am trusting in my work instead of trusting in You. Help me to grow more dependent upon You each and every day. Thank You for Your consistency in my life. Amen.