12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
-Philippians 2:12-13, NRSV
As I read this scripture, on this Labor Day of all days, I find it calls to mind a brief but powerful prayer found in our United Methodist Hymnal:
“The things, good Lord, that we pray for, give us the grace to labor for.” (UMH 409)
Written some five centuries ago by English lawyer and social philosopher Sir Thomas More, these words remind us of a powerful truth: prayer isn’t over when we say the word “amen.” Prayer continues by working, striving, and advocating for those things for which we pray.
Oprah Winfrey says it another way: “Pray as if it’s up to God; work as if it’s up to you.” That may be good wisdom for us on this day, this Labor Day, this Labor Day in a nation reeling from racial injustice and economic inequality — to say nothing of a pandemic. Clearly, people of prayer, there’s work to do.
So pray as if it’s up to God.
Work as if it’s up to you.
You just might find…
it’s up to God working through you.
Pastor Candy
Pray and work, friends, and remember:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
