Daily Affirmations - Day 2 - Redeeming the Time - Establish Our Work

Day 2: Establish our work

Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise

Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children.  And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:16-17 - NKJV).

Abba, Father, You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body... (Psalm 139:13, 15, 16).

You created me with a special, specific plan. For You are God who creates, and endows, and appoints, according to Your wisdom and purpose.

Throughout human history You chose prophets, leaders, administrators, and kings, and You gifted and equipped them for the work You called them to. You chose Abraham out of a metropolis of rampant idolatry, Moses out of a no man's land of confused identity, David out of a sheep pen and family obscurity.

You selected with equal care and intention every lamp-trimmer, ash-remover, curtain-maker, bread baker, perfume maker— every skilled worker. You chose Bezalel, son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and... filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills to do the work You set out (Exodus 31:2-5).

You chose twelve sons, twelve tribes, twelve disciples. And it was You— Christ Himself [who] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers... (Ephesians 4:11). You chose us, and declared us to be Your workmanship, the masterpiece You created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Today, Lord, thank You for work— in whatever form You have assigned it. Thank You for purpose. Help us to see beyond the limits of human horizons— human expectations; so that we can find the eternal in the temporal, and distinguish important from trivial, genuine from false, valuable from useless.

Wherever we find ourselves, and whatever our season of life, teach us to be mindful of Your instruction: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people (Colossians 3:23 – GNT)

Help us, O God to redeem the time in these evil days. In this world of trouble and strife, help us to make the most of every opportunity to sow kindness, grace, mercy, hope, comfort, love.

You have promised to equip us for works of service (Ephesians 4:12). We humbly hold out that promise as we pray, like Moses, "Establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17)

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