God blesses hard work.

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

who walks in his ways!

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Psalm 128:1-2

The blessing of the Lord is not a passive experience. It comes most often in the day to day diligent work that we do. We don’t sit back in the old Lazy Boy recliner and just wait for God to bless our inactivity. No... we work and God blesses. That has always been God’s plan for people. When Adam and Eve were first created sinless in God’s original creation, they were put into a garden and instructed to work in it. Work is part of God’s plan for us and is not a curse upon us! God blesses the labor of our hands.

I was raised to respect hard work by a blue-collar dad who wore himself out with physical labor. He was a dock worker, truck driver, and union man. Growing up, we were never rich, but we certainly weren’t poor. God blessed his hard work. That example has been my own model, and even though my life has had a different trajectory, I have been motivated by what I experienced, growing up to work hard, at times doing physical labor without complaint... not afraid to work two jobs when needed, and for most of my adult life now going into three decades of ministry vocation, serving the church through the hard work of pastoring.

Generally speaking, God has blessed this hard work. My family also is neither poor, nor wanting, but not what Americans would call rich. In global terms however, we are wealthy. And I know it and want to give back accordingly. Never in the Burch house had there been a worry about food, shelter, or clothing. For that I am thankful. And though there are times we may feel stressed more than blessed, God is always faithful to get us through!