Working Smarter, Not Harder

Micah 5:10-14

¹⁰ “In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will slaughter your horses
    and destroy your chariots.
¹¹ I will tear down your walls
    and demolish your defenses.
¹² I will put an end to all witchcraft,
    and there will be no more fortune-tellers.
¹³ I will destroy all your idols and sacred pillars,
    so you will never again worship the work of your own hands.
¹⁴ I will abolish your idol shrines with their Asherah poles
    and destroy your pagan cities.

The old saying goes, “you work smarter, not harder” or “the right tools for the right job.” I can remember working on something, a car, my house, or the lawn mower, and the job becoming so frustrating because I did not have the right tools. The times I have had the right tools, the job went amazingly easily and fast. What kills me is that you don’t have to have the right tools to start the job. You realize you need them when you have a mess around you, and you have hit a stopping point because the tools you have are not cutting it.

I love the Old Testament because God lays out the things He sees we struggle with and calls them out, kind of like our dependence on the tools we have to finish the job when, in reality, they won’t cut it. They will only get us started into a mess we cannot fix with what we have.

Micah gives us a list of some things we, as humans, tend to put our trust and dependence in that only leave us wanting. First, we depend on weapons and the defenses of the cities we live in. No, this is not an anti-gun rant, but God is pointing out that our protection is from Him, not from the weapons we make (Psalm 91:11).

Second, we tend to turn toward witchcraft. No, not the kind where we wear a black robe and pointy hat, but rather we tend to seek comfort and guidance from horoscopes, the market, or any other thing except the Lord. Jesus says He will guide us into all truth, and He will set us free (John 16:13).

Third, we seem to have faith in the things we make rather than the Lord, i.e., idols. Again, we don’t have a wooden statue we pray to, but anything that rises above the Bible as your guide in life is an idol against the Lord (2 Timothy 3:16).

We are all human, and we all have fallen short of the glory of the Lord. We all need a Savior. Today, take a good, hard look at the current places you seem to gather strength from. It is OK to feel comfort in your abilities and your God-given talent, but you must realize that all your gifts come from the Lord and should be used for His glory. Wherever you are, be a shining light, an example of Christ and His light. The Bible says that if we lift Him up, He will draw all men to Himself. That is right, just lift up Jesus, and people will flock to you and wonder what is different about you. Your answer is Jesus.

Prayer: Father, help me to put away all of the things in my life that do not glorify You. Help me get rid of my dependence on this world and its things, and focus my attention on You, walking by faith and not by sight, giving You glory even in the dark valleys. In Jesus’ name, amen.