"Do this wholeheartedly, with the fear of Yahweh and with faithfulness... Be strong, and do your job. May Yahweh be with those who do right." (2 Chronicles 19:9, 11b)

"Pay attention to what you're doing.  When you _____, you aren't doing it for a human but for Yahweh.  He will be with you when you ______.  May you have the fear of Yahweh in you.  Be careful about what you do.  Yahweh our Elohim is never unjust.  He is impartial and never takes bribes. "  (2 Chronicles 19:6-7)

In this case, the specific context was Jehoshaphat charge to the judges he appointed in the country and the Levites that would serve as officers of the court. However this verse can be applied to all those things where we put our hands to what our heart prompts and our assigned responsibilities.

Paul says in Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters...”

And Ephesians 6:7, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people...”

When we go about our daily tasks and our job, we are to do it not just enough to get by or get paid, not with our left over energy, but with our whole hearts and in fear of the Lord. We are to put everything into what we engage in our jobs and serve the Lord wholeheartedly.

So what does it mean to serve the Lord wholeheartedly?

In 2 Chronicles 19:9, serving the Lord wholeheartedly also translates as faithfully and with a perfect heart. Being perfect often makes me think of getting everything right. If I just get it all right, I will be wholehearted as God asks of me.  However, perfect in this case means full, peaceful, whole, complete, in full obedience to God. And in Colossians, with all your heart also translates as heartily or with the spirit, vitality, soul, heart, and / or life, including the mind.

Brene Brown in her book Daring Greatly describes wholeheartedness not as getting everything right but as coming with all you are including your weaknesses and imperfections to the table. She notes “at its very core as vulnerability and worthiness: facing uncertainty, exposure, and emotional risks, knowing that I am enough.” [1]

When we are wholehearted about what we do, it is not that we get everything right, working hard to follow all the rules so we can think of ourselves as righteous. Rather it is that we engage, bring who we are, and be willing to trust God as we step forth and take risks with courage.

Brene Brown notes that a wholehearted life is defined by courage, compassion, and connection. [2] She goes on to note that the single clearest shared value by those who live a wholehearted life is vulnerability.

She sees wholeheartedness not as getting it right, but engaging with the moment. She sees it as our willingness to bring all of ourselves and be genuine and real in the moment. In this place, we find compassion for both ourselves as well as others. We are able to genuinely connect without putting on a front.

Wholeheartedness is bringing the real me to the table rather than the false self I so want to be. It is realizing and accepting I am enough as I am... so are others.

My daily devotional noted yesterday, "If we want  to be profitable servants of the Lord, we must make the most of every moment and every opportunity He has given us."  [3]

We are not to be just going through the motions, thinking about what will be coming next, living in worry and fear as we grit our teeth and try to get through the day, but learn to be fully present to God and others as we step into all God has for us.

Jesus says in Mark 11:22 (MSG), “Embrace this God-Life. Really embrace it. And nothing will be too much for you.

Brother Lawrence was someone who learned to embrace life with a sense of awe of God and worship. Everything he did was in the love of God and out of his love for God. Even the mundane and routine tasks like washing tables he found depth in them as he learned to do them for God in His love.

Often we think of our circumstances not as our tutors to help us to grow, entering into them with wonder of God and what He might have, but as something we have to get through. Usually we are thinking of the next thing in the future and not even present to the moment.

For me, sometimes it is worry that keeps me from being present to God and to what He has in the moment. I am thinking through senarios in my head and worrying about something that is coming or something in the past that happened.

In any case, it is not that I can change something but that fear, dread, anxiousness, hurry or regret and guilt that keep me from the joy of the moment in God's presence and to fully entering in to what God has for me. I am not trusting God and surrendering to Him but wishing I could somehow control and manage my environment and make it different.

Jean-Pierre De Caussade talks about what he calls the “Sacrament of the Present Moment.” It is just how it sounds, finding God right now in the current moment and fully partaking of it with Him. He speaks of finding the treasures of grace that lie concealed in our moments which are filled which seem to be by the most ordinary events. He notes that the invisible, discerned by faith, is no less operating wonderful and great things. [4]

Sometimes it is my expectations of the moment that totally throw me off. I expect to be comfortable and things to go well. I have a hard time seeing God in the moments that are stressful and frustrating. And I have a hard time surrendering them to God.

I really struggle with those moments where, for example, I am sick, have both a cold and the flu for days on end, am overtired from lack of sleep, get a bloody nose, soap gets in my eye as I try to stop my nose from bleeding because I was in the middle of washing my face at the time.

Know those kind of moments? You know the ones where you cut your finger, look at it and faint, cracking your head open on the floor as you fall?

Frustration sometimes happens for me in these moments and I just make it worse. While I try to shake it off, at times I can get totally out of sorts and crabby during these moments. They seem to wear on me and zap my energy over time. 

When I am worn out, my whole outlook changes to one of anger and blame. I blame God for treating me poorly and letting my life be difficult. I get crabby with others as I grit my teeth and just try to get through and just make things worse.  Then I go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night feeling totally inadequate and stressed about being crabby.

“You alone are holy, I am waiting for the perfect day” sings in the background

Brother Lawrence used to struggle with what he called being 'clumsy.' But it didn't bother him. He expected that he would stumble and fall. He knew he was far from perfect. And so he deeply depended on God for even the most simple tasks.

Because he expected to be clumsy and need God for everything, he was so very grateful for the grace God gave him to get through – whether he stumbled or not. He had found something so much greater than any difficulty or humiliation that could come his way... His friendship with God. He deeply loved God and enjoyed every moment with Him.

The truth is that we live in a world that is far from perfect. But we can invite the one who is perfect to be with us in our moments. We can look to Him and depend on Him. He is more than enough to get us through.  

While the Israelites wondered in the desert 40 years, their shoes never wore out (Deuteronomy 29:5).  Despite the grumbling and complaining, God was with the Israelites every day.  He led them around by a cloud by day and fire by night.  His mercies were new every morning as He fed them each new day with manna from heaven.  

“You are my joy” sings in the background.

Great is His faithfulness.   Even the worst moments can be brightened when we look to Him to be with us. Not to blame or expect Him to fix everything for us, but to stop, realize what is really important and partake of the most wonderful gift of the moment – His presence that is always with us.

Lord, I long to be more present to You and live life more wholeheartedly.  Give us hearts filled with praise, and the greatest gift there is – Your friendship for the moment. Give us the grace and joy we need for the difficult moments and the courage and vulnerability to enter into all you have for us.