I was reading in Jeremiah the other day and stopped when I read this verse: “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness…” (Jeremiah 48:10) That partial verse caught my attention and I had to pause to consider what God was saying to me—to us.

I realized God was chastising the Israelites for their behavior, but being cursed for their negligence in their work for God startled me. What does that mean for us? If we’re lax in completing what God has called us to do, is the punishment as harsh? Does a curse even have power over our lives, given Jesus’ grace extended to us?

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” From this verse we know that God has a work, or works, He’s prepared for us to do. If God went to that trouble, doesn’t it make sense that He expects us to carry through that? His desire is for us to follow Him and to complete what He’s given us to do.

We all have a calling on our life, something God has assigned us. Every calling is different, just like every person is different. Just like we are all parts of the body of Christ, but we each have different jobs to fulfill. 

It’s important to seek God’s will and to find out what He has for you to do. We can’t look around and decide we like what Mary or Joe is doing and choose that as our calling. Instead, we have to spend time with God, asking Him what His will is for our lives.

We must never grow weary in doing our work. Weariness promotes neglect. We must maintain the freshness of our job or calling by our attitude toward serving. There are always discouragements, but those can be overcome by a positive attitude and knowing God called us to this role.

I find it sad that the Israelites lost sight of God and the work He’d called them to do. Perhaps, they lost focus on who they were working for. We must not do that. I know I will put more emphasis on this, knowing how important it is to God. I hope you do too.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24