God’s Word Works!

"All hard work brings a profit but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23 (NIV)

Several years ago I taught a weekly women’s Proverbs Bible study on Wednesday nights at our church. Each week when I arrived to set up my classroom, I literally had to chase a dozen or so teenage ballerinas from my room. The young dancers never seemed to be ready to leave their rehearsal, preferring instead to practice their pirouettes, very slowly exchange their ballet slippers for tennis shoes, and linger over girl talk. Finally, I would shoo them out so that our facilities folks could transform the rehearsal space into a proper classroom. 

When the girls left, I always bemoaned the fact that my classroom still smelled slightly sweaty, much like an athletic locker room. After my class ended, I exited to the sounds of music coming from our adult choir’s rehearsal next door. Even in September, Christmas music filled our church’s hallways in preparation for the coming Advent season. 

Each week as I taught my Proverbs Bible study, I had a glimpse into the blood, sweat, tears, and hard work that accompany the disciplines of dancing and singing. Hours and hours of preparation; countless repetition of the same movements for both dance and music; and constant striving for perfection. And each week as I watched and listened to the sounds of music, I saw some of the major Proverbs themes fleshed out before me- hard work, discipline, diligence, reaping after sowing, patience, perseverance, counting both the costs and the consequences.

God's Word works. It works when we obey it, and it works when we don’t. The book of Proverbs teaches us that all hard work brings a profit. It doesn't say that we should worship our work, but it encourages us to work. When we're in the middle of dance rehearsals, athletics, writing projects, teaching, parenting, or caring for aging parents, it's easy to get discouraged and want to give up and abandon the task at hand. God calls us, however, to persevere, to "keep on keeping on," to build and finish the task He has assigned. When we do so, we get the joy of obedience and a product that can bring Him glory.

Wherever we are today, let’s look ahead and count both the costs and consequences of obedience, hard work, discipline, and perseverance. The Apostle Paul once wrote, "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows"(Galatians 6:7).  Paul could have just as easily said, "Don't get distracted or discouraged." For a good harvest, there is always a waiting period until the harvest. God promises, however, there will, indeed, be a reward.

God's Word works…and so do His people!