”May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17
Over the summer school holidays I took a few weeks off to have a break, hang out with the family and work on a garden project at home. I’m not an overtly DIY kind of person, but over the years I have enjoyed working on various projects around the home. I find they bring much personal fulfillment, are good for my personal fitness, provide me with a change of focus and they save some money at the same time.
This summer I invested my time, energy and some sweat into building some retaining walls and a new bird aviary in our front yard. The end result looks okay and thankfully everything has (so far) stood up well to the regular downpours of heavy rains that have recently come our way.
As I reflect on my own ‘hands-on’ garden project endeavours, I realise that something I particularly appreciate about the entire experience is that I can actually see some results (ie the finished product) from the work of my hands and the energy expended. It’s encouraging to take on a building or gardening project and see it through from start to finish, and to see something tangible as a meaningful return for my work.
A find that this is often not the case in ministry. Ministry certainly demands our time and energy and even our sweat. Ministry is a worthwhile work, but all the same it is hard work.
I observe that there can be specific ministry projects we take on that have a predetermined starting and completion date, but we may not see the result (fruit) of our labour – particularly when we invest ourselves into the lives of people - in other words, spiritual formation and life change takes time; it’s hardly ever a short-term thing. We may happen to see some 'results', which can encourage us to persevere in good faith. However, as people move on, or as we move on, we may not be privileged to see the outcomes during our watch.
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I love the prayer of Moses recorded in Psalm 90. Here we have included for our benefit some heartfelt words from a man who toiled long and hard as God’s appointed leader over the Nation of Israel. The constant grumbling and complaining of these people must surely have ground him down over the years; still Moses stuck to his task yet never got to see the Promised Land for himself.
I find it interesting to note how Moses closes out his prayer to God in Psalm 90 where he prays; “establish the work of our hands for us-yes, establish the work of our hands.” This tells me that serving God is very much a hands-on kind of arrangement, ordained by God - it’s not a bad prayer to be praying as we continue on into a new year of Christian ministry, wherever and with whoever God has called us to serve.
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10
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