December 14. 2024
Perhaps in your area also, but definitely in New York City, it’s amazing to watch delivery workers on the job. I recently saw one in the middle of his deliveries working in a very congested area. He double parked his 18-wheeler so close to the parked cars on his left that anyone in the cars’ passenger seats would panicked.
He moved quickly with just the right amount of weight and speed on the lift. Then he would roll his dolly full of food onto the street and into the restaurant, and he was back at the truck with an empty dolly in a minute. I could not figure out how he did that until he finished and was locking the back of the truck. Then I saw his secret weapon.
Another man came out of the restaurant with an empty dolly and joined the deliveryman in the truck. That deliveryman had a teammate working “inside” the restaurant to unload the dollies, doing the heavy lifting. There were two and not just one working together, but the heavy work was an “inside” job.
Do you know that is just the way the Kingdom of Jesus works? Those on the outside will look at a believer and wonder how you do the things you do, survive the things you face, encourage others even when you need encouragement, never give up, and always praise a God whom you do not see. Just as with the deliveryman, those on the outside only see you but they don’t see the “inside Man” who is doing the heavy lifting on your behalf. Your entire life is a divine “inside” job where God is ordering your steps and protecting you in every way.
Don’t believe me? Remember David, who was anointed king as a teenager, yet did not go to “king” prep school or college. He had no mentor training him in king-ology. For decades, he didn’t have a throne and was running to save his life. Yet even his worst enemies could not destroy him and he used strategies that he did know he possessed. Amazingly, he developed a faithful following out of nowhere (while on the run). It was an “inside” job, where God kept David and groomed and trained him. People on the outside could not figure out how David survived and thrived in the midst of chaos and danger. It was an “inside” job.
God’s hand was on David and God’s hand is on you. For everything—good or bad—Almighty God is working on the “inside” (unseen) to perfect it all and mature you. No matter how things look, David’s words about God’s power are true: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). Here’s the translation of that verse: It’s an “inside” job! Give God the glory for the grace of His “inside” job for you.
God bless you!
Pastor Janice Fareed-Hardy
