He Did It With All His Heart
Doing our life-work with all our heart is the key to prosperity and finding joy in even the most difficult tasks.
F.B. Meyer emphasizes the importance of putting one's heart into work, asserting that true prosperity comes from heartfelt dedication. He illustrates that the heart is essential to our nature, akin to a furnace in a factory, and encourages those in unfulfilling jobs to find purpose by viewing their work as God-appointed. Meyer highlights that love can transform even the most tedious tasks into acts of service when done for the sake of others, particularly in the name of Jesus. By embracing this perspective, mundane duties can become meaningful and rewarding.
Text
He did it with all his heart
and prospered. 2 Chron. xxxi. 21.
THE man who does his business with all his heart, is sure to prosper. To put your heart into your work is like genius manipulating common materials, till their worth becomes priceless, just because of what has been put into it.
The heart stands for the emotions and affections. What the furnace is to the factory or steamship, that the heart is in the economy of our nature. It is a great thing to love our life‑work, to have an aim that kindles us whenever we think of it. Those who are so happily circumstanced, cannot be sufficiently thankful. But what of those who are bound to a work which they did not choose and do not like, who find their daily toil irksome and distasteful ‑‑ is there any help for them? Can they possibly learn to do such work from their hearts? Certainly: because of Him who set it, and for whom it may be done.
Love performs the most onerous duties with all its heart, if they conduce to the comfort and help of those whom it loves more than itself. Does not a mother or wife perform tasks from which the hireling would shrink? She does them with all her heart, not considering for a moment the loathesomeness and hardness of the demand. So if we look at our life‑work as God‑appointed; if we realize that He has fixed it for us, who determined the orbits of the stars; if we can hear the voice of Jesus saying, "Do this for Me " ‑‑ there is no further thought of hardship or distaste. Remember to do all your life‑work for Jesus; do all in his name and for his glory; ask Him to fill your heart with submissive, loyal obedience, and you will find that when you introduce the personal element of Christ‑service into the meanest acts, they will glisten like a piece of gold‑tapestry.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Importance of Doing Work with All One's Heart
- A. The promise of prosperity when doing work with all one's heart
- B. The role of the heart in the economy of our nature
- II. Loving One's Life-Work
- A. The benefits of loving one's life-work
- B. The importance of having an aim that kindles us
- III. Doing Difficult Work with All One's Heart
- A. The example of love performing onerous duties
- B. The role of God in appointing our life-work
- IV. Serving Jesus in All We Do
- A. The importance of doing all our life-work for Jesus
- B. The role of Christ in giving us submissive, loyal obedience
Key Quotes
“To put your heart into your work is like genius manipulating common materials, till their worth becomes priceless, just because of what has been put into it.” — F.B. Meyer
“Love performs the most onerous duties with all its heart, if they conduce to the comfort and help of those whom it loves more than itself.” — F.B. Meyer
“Remember to do all your life-work for Jesus; do all in his name and for his glory; ask Him to fill your heart with submissive, loyal obedience, and you will find that when you introduce the personal element of Christ-service into the meanest acts, they will glisten like a piece of gold-tapestry.” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We should strive to do all our life-work with love and enthusiasm, even if it's not our chosen profession.
- We can find joy and meaning in our work by serving Jesus and doing it for His glory.
- By introducing the personal element of Christ-service into our work, we can transform even the meanest acts into something beautiful.