For the Rest of Your Life

I remember asking my mom around the age of 12, “Can I get a job and go to work?” In her wisdom, she taught me, “Don’t rush going to work, enjoy your childhood, you will be working the rest of your life!”

Hopefully you get to stop your work next Monday and take Labor Day off.

If you’re like me, you probably know Labor Day means a three-day weekend, but you may not know exactly why we celebrate it.

Labor Day began in the late 1800s as a way to honor the contributions and achievements of American workers. In 1894, Congress established the first Monday in September as a national holiday.

But Labor Day makes me wonder about something bigger:

Where did work come from?

The answer takes us all the way back to the Garden.

Before sin entered the world, there was work.

God worked. Genesis 1 describes God creating, ordering, forming, and filling His creation. Then He gave Adam and Eve work to do. Adam was placed in the Garden “to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15).

Work wasn't a punishment for sin.

Work was part of God's good design.

Sin didn't create work; sin corrupted it. Work became painful, frustrating, exhausting, and sometimes seemingly meaningless. Yet its goodness remains.

And Scripture points toward a day when God will make all things new. A day is fast approaching when the work of our hands will no longer be marked by futility and frustration.

Your work might help someone get something they need, accomplish a task nobody else wants to do, be boring or fun; no matter what, God has called you to that work for a purpose: to accomplish His work in the world through you to bless others.

And maybe you are tired from all that work. I know I am.

So, on this Wednesday in anticipation of Labor Day weekend ahead, PAUSE.

Stop working for a second. Take a slow, deep breath in. Hold it for a moment. And slowly breathe out.

Do it again. Stop and notice your breath.

Now, without rushing to solve anything, ponder your work.

What season of work are you in?

Are you early in a career, caregiving, searching, building, or retiring? 

Where do you experience joy and purpose in your work?

Where are you tired and weary from work?

What feels frustrating or futile in your work?

Bring those thoughts before the Lord.

Tell God your Father: Lord, thank You for the work You have given me. Help me see my work through Your eyes. Show me where You are present in it, and what You are inviting me into in this season.

Take one more slow breath. Receive this moment as a gift.

Pause. Breathe. Give thanks.

And as you get back to work today, and work for a good part of the rest of your life, remember that God is using you to bless others through your work.

Thanks be to God.