“Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” Here’s how that leads to rest.

The Word Before Work

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Series: Wisdom for Work from Proverbs
Devotional: 2 of 7

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans….In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps….The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:3, 9, 33)

In his terrific memoir, On Writing, novelist Stephen King says, “I used to tell interviewers that I wrote every day except for Christmas, the Fourth of July, and my birthday. That was a lie. I told them that because…I didn’t want to sound like a workaholic dweeb…The truth is that when I’m writing, I write every day…not working is the real work."

I deeply resonate with that last line for two reasons. First, because I (like you) love the work God has given me to do. Second, because rest is an act of faith—it’s a way of trusting that the world will keep spinning even if I’m not doing the spinning!

Yes, Scripture frequently commands us to hustle and work hard (see Colossians 3:23). But it also tells us to trust that it is God—not us—who produces results in our work (see Deuteronomy 8:18). And that trust ought to lead to a deep rest for our souls (see Matthew 11:29).

What does it look like to hold this tension between “trust, hustle, and rest” well? Solomon answers that question systematically in Proverbs 16.

First, Solomon calls us to trust by instructing us to “Commit to the Lord whatever you do.” Before we roll up our sleeves, we are to commit our work to God and recognize that whatever fruit our work produces is “from him” (Romans 11:36).

Second, Solomon calls us to hustle by saying, "In their hearts humans plan their course.” While God has clearly called us to express our trust in him, he has also given us brains to “plan,” strategize, and execute our plans at work.

Finally, Solomon calls us to rest. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” In other words, if we have trusted in God for the results of our work and done our part to work “with all [our] heart” (Colossians 3:23), we can rest knowing that “the lot is cast” and the results are in God’s hands.

I don’t know about you, but I need constant reminders to trust, hustle, and rest. If you need the same, let me encourage you to write down one of the following three reminders wherever you’ll see them as you work:

• Trust (Deuteronomy 8:18), Hustle (Colossians 3:23), and Rest (Matthew 11:29)
• “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” — Saint Augustine
• “My job is faithfulness. God’s job is fruitfulness.” — John Piper

Want to see one of these on the lockscreen of your phone? Download a graphic here.

With today’s passage in mind, I pray that you will work diligently with your hands and gently with your soul, trusting that the outcomes are in the Lord’s hands!