2 Chronicles 17

One thing I noted about this chapter was the number of devoted people who were in Judah at the time. King Jehoshaphat was, of course, devoted to the Lord. The text points out that he even "removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah." (vs 6) Then there were the Levites who traveled through the nation, teaching the people about God from the Book of the Law. And then, toward the end of the chapter, there was mention of all the fighting men who surrounded the king, including "Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered himself for the service of the Lord." (vs 16)

At this time in Judah, it seems like everywhere you turned, there were people devoted to the Lord. And what really made an impression on me was the range of occupations that were included. For instance, we would certainly say that the priests and Levites were working in "the service of the Lord." The tasks they were given were directly related to the spirituality of the nation. Of course that’s God’s work! And even the king, it could be said, was engaged in the Lord’s service. After all, it seems like the spiritual temperature of the nation was highly dependent upon the leadership of the king.

But what about Amasiah son of Zikri, who "volunteered himself for the service of the Lord"? He was a fighting man, a soldier. He wasn’t reading or interpreting the Scriptures for people. He wasn’t assisting in the temple, offering sacrifices for people and proclaiming to them the forgiveness of God. How is it that his work was considered the Lord’s work?

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, "There is no lawful occupation in which a man cannot thoroughly serve the Lord. It is a great privilege and blessing to be set apart to the work of winning souls; but we must never separate that work from all the rest of the callings of life, as though it alone were sacred, and all the rest were secular and almost sinful. Serve God where you are."

God has a work for us to do—no matter who we are, where we are, or what occupation we’re engaged in. It’s not like God has certain occupations set aside that only qualify as "His work," and if we want to dedicate ourselves to His service, we must pick one of those occupations. No, the Lord’s work happens when we dedicate ourselves to Christ, regardless of our occupation. When we are devoted to Him, He accomplishes His work in and through us.

God needs you. His work doesn’t only require pastors or literature evangelists. He also needs teachers, taxi cab drivers, accountants, grocery store clerks, social workers, politicians, and plumbers. He needs people from all corners of the world and all walks of life to reach out and touch other people from all corners of the world and all walks of life. So, don’t make the mistake of compartmentalizing occupations as either "sacred" or "secular." If you will volunteer yourself for the service of the Lord, as Amasiah did, you will find that God will make sacred work of your occupation—no matter what it is.

He needs you!