Read: Colossians 3:23
Does your skin crawl when you hear the word “hustle”? Before we get too much further into today’s devo, I’d love for you to write down the words or feelings you associate with hustle. Have you had a bad experience with it, or is it something you enjoy?
When we look at the dictionary definition of hustle, all it means is to “work rapidly or energetically.” Doesn’t it remind you of Colossians 3:23? “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (NIV). When I feel guilty about working hard and attempt to follow the models of rest and soul-care that seem to be popular right now, I find myself leaning too heavily into laziness. When I turn too far the other way and work nonstop, following the world’s definition of hustle, I find myself striving and exhausted.
Either way, I end up feeling miserable.
We serve a God who created the entire earth and everything on it out of nothing in six days – we read that yesterday, right? God modeled work for us—energetic, creative, hard work followed by rest. And today’s Scripture, specifically in the Message, reminds us that being followers of Jesus doesn’t give us an excuse to do less than our best. In fact, we’ll do more for God’s kingdom when we stop trying to DO more and focus on doing just what God has given us, to the very best of our abilities, and loving others as we do it. As I’ve prayed about how this model fits with the concept of modern hustle, God has revealed a few things:
- Hustle isn’t bad when we work hard for what glorifies God and serves His kingdom.
- Scripture provides examples of the blessing of hard work.
- We can’t live 100 percent of our lives modeled after the first six days of creation and ignore day seven.
Today, take the time to pray about your current work/rest balance. Ask God to reveal any places that don’t line up with His plan for your life, areas where you’re working too hard and resting too little, or areas where you’re resting too much and working too little. Ask God to show you how you can make His name great through your work on these projects, and ask His forgiveness for the times when greed, a quest for fame, or comparison motivated you more than a desire to be obedient in the small, every day moments.
???? thanks Crystal!
Love this, Crystal!
I enjoyed reading The Message version of Colossians 3:23. It really does emphasis the work mentality God wants us to have. It will be a good idea for me to assess where I do too much and too little; where I rest too much and too little – according to HIS plan for my life.