2 Chronicles 31

Today’s blog will center around the last verse of this chapter: "In everything that [Hezekiah] undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." (vs 21) This is the key to prosperity and success in God’s universe—working for God with your whole heart, no matter what you do. This is what God does.

Think about it. How a person does a job—any job—depends on how the person views what they’re doing. For instance, a new mother does some of the most burdensome tasks on the face of the planet: round-the-clock feedings, changing endless diapers, and enduring weeks of interrupted sleep. Could you pay someone to perform all those tasks with the same love and care as a mother? I don’t think so!

Or consider someone who cares for a terminally ill person. I watched my mother care for my father in a remarkable way for months on end while he slowly died from ALS. Without the use of his arms or legs, she did everything for him. Could any hired caretaker have tended to his needs in the same way as my mother did? I don’t think so!

In both scenarios, those doing the work were totally motivated by love—not money. In such a case, the burden of the work disappears. It ceases to be work and—although sometimes exhausting—becomes a joy to the one who loves. Such work is blessed and becomes a blessing, both to the one who does the work and the one(s) who benefits from it.

God puts His heart into His work. His dealings with us are not drudgery for Him. And His work flourishes and prospers because of His immense love. Just like Mother Teresa, who worked every day in the gutters of Calcutta, God continuously touches lives—healing, saving, and restoring. He puts His heart and soul into His work, and no matter what our life’s work is, we can choose to be like God. We can put our whole heart into everything we do, choosing to work as God does—for the love, not the money.