“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
There are some things to consider here; whatever you find to do, do it and do it with all thy might. Then there’s the issue with doing it before our appointed time with eternity. Whatever door of opportunity is opened for service for the Lord, do it. There is always something to do in the church, either in the building or for the congregation. What is it that you can do? “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much...” (Luke 16:10) Do you consider the door of opportunity that has been opened to you demeaning of you, your knowledge or your skills? Many times, our skills set limits us. We are confident and can carry out the tasks that are demanded. But we’re limited because we depend more on our knowledge instead of seeing if the Lord has a better way or a different way. The task may be accomplished, but there is no divine supernatural touch in it. What we always want in anything we do is to have godly intervention. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
And whatever we do, we are to do with all our might. “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;” (Romans 12:11) There is no other way to serve the Lord. We are to give our best to our Lord, our King Who is our Redeemer. We are not serving man, but God. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24) What we offer is earthly and not worthy of Him. But when we offer our heart in our work, that pleases Him. God looks at our heart, our motivations. Do we do the work for displaying it in this world? We’ll get our reward on earth. Or do we do whatever we do to serve Him out of love for Him? “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.” (Proverbs 16:2)
Solomon wrote “there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave...” Death is eminent for all of us. We all have our appointed time. And once our time has come, everything on earth is no longer a part of us. We are separated instantly from all our plans, possessions, our treasures, our family, our friends and all work. The opportunity for all we intended to do and things to make right has passed. There is no more opportunity. We must take that into consideration when we think about serving the Lord. He has a plan for us that is perfect for our abilities (not skills set), either mental, emotional or physical. And yes, for our appointed time. For a far-fetched example, God may, but unlikely use a 90-year-old to guide a group of teens through those years. There’s the issue of health and energy, relatability and the fact that the 90-year-old may not be around to accomplish the task needed with a group of teens. So yes, when we depend on the Lord to open opportunities to serve Him, He takes into account our appointed time.
Paul exhorts us, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1Corinthians 15:58) We should abound in the work of the Lord. That word abounding means to superabound in excess, over and above. Paul’s encouragement gives us a goal, to be abounding in the work of the Lord. We can wait around ages for the Lord to move us mightily into a grand ministry and miss the opportunities the Lord opens up to serve Him in whatever we find to do.
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