Glory to God. Perspective is everything, family. But not just any perspective. The believer’s perspective has to line up with the Father.
That is where peace comes from. We serve Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Jireh, the Prince of Peace. The Holy Spirit is working through us, and when we get in line with God’s will, we stop being controlled by what looks empty, difficult, delayed, or insufficient.
Do not get stuck looking at empty chairs. Be concerned with the people God has placed right in front of you. God has power, and He has chosen to work through His people. When the people of God are equipped, encouraged, and aligned with His divine will, they carry that power into their homes, jobs, neighborhoods, and relationships.
The church is not merely a building. You are the church.
Stop Focusing on What Is Missing
In the workplace, people often see staffing shortages, unfinished projects, poor morale, and all the reasons why the work cannot get done. Companies try to build morale through huddles and team activities because they recognize a basic truth: people need encouragement and unity.
Coming from a military background, there was a different mindset. The mission had to be completed. When former service members entered a civilian workplace and were told to slow down because there were not enough people, the response was simple: there are people here, so let us work together.
Someone has something that can help somebody else. One person may have insight, another may have strength, another may have experience, and another may have the encouragement the whole group needs. When people stop competing and start coming alongside one another, things can get accomplished.
That is true at work, but it is also true in the body of Christ. The responsibility is never ultimately on us to manufacture results. The onus is on God. Our part is to be available, obedient, and in position.
Work Is Honorable Service to the Lord
Your work can become worship when you understand who gave you the opportunity. Colossians 3:23-24 teaches us to work wholeheartedly as for the Lord rather than for people, knowing that our inheritance comes from Him. We are serving the Lord Christ.
This truth applies well beyond a paycheck. It reaches into every area God has placed in your hands:
- Your job and coworkers
- Your marriage and family
- Your friendships and community
- Your responsibilities at church
- Your care for the people God brings into your path
God gave you that family. God gave you that assignment. God gave you people to love. So the question becomes: Do I care about the people around me as much as God does?
There is no job without Him. There is no family without Him. And when we fail to appreciate what God has given us, we can lose sight of the gift while it is right in our hands. But glory to God, it is never too late with Jesus. He can grow us up, restore what has been broken, and put us back in position to receive what He wants to do.
Work is not supposed to be empty toil that wears us out and makes us numb toward people. It can be honorable service offered back to the Father.
Genuine Humility Brings Others Alongside You
Humility is not talking about how humble you are. If we say we have it all together, we may need to check ourselves. Success can make us forget the cold and dark places where we had to rely on God.
There is a lesson in teamwork that reaches deeper than performance. When somebody is moving slowly, unprepared, or struggling, the answer is not to beat them down with discouragement. The answer is to help bring that brother or sister along.
That does not mean manipulating anybody. It means seeing the prize, believing in what God can do, and helping people become convinced that they have a place in His purpose.
Transformation is spiritual. We can make decisions and develop better habits, but real transformation comes as the Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out. Even in practical goals, such as becoming healthier, the goal cannot be just personal appearance or self-improvement. We want to be at our best so we can serve those walking beside us.
We are not coming as people trying to get ahead of each other. We are coming as a force together.
Do Not Put God Back in the Glove Box
Real zeal for God comes from deep gratitude in the innermost being. It is not something we put on for a church service and then take off for the rest of the week.
Many of us have been in that place. We pull God out of the glove box, put Him on for a little while, do what looks right, then pack Him back away and live however we want. But that leaves us in control, and God is not looking for a part-time relationship.
Perfection is not the point. Nobody arrives at perfection in this life. The issue is whether we are being led by the Spirit of God. Is His truth becoming part of our daily activity? Does it show up when a child says something that tests our patience, when a coworker gets on our nerves, or when a relationship becomes hostile?
When faith and loyalty to God are expressed with humility in a difficult situation, peace can enter. Even when someone walks away or shuts a door, peace can still come. Then God gets us busy with His plan and equips us for what is next.
True Worshipers Worship in Spirit and Truth
Jesus said in John 4:23-24 that the Father is seeking those who worship Him in spirit and truth. This came through Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus offered her living water, revealed who He was, and gave us a powerful foundation for life.
Worship in spirit and truth is not surface religion. It begins with a genuine heart of love for God and with a heart aligned to His nature, not our own and not the world’s.
God’s truth has to become part of our makeup. It cannot stay in a book on a shelf, a phrase we repeat on Sunday, or an emergency tool we reach for only when life is falling apart. His truth has to walk with us, and really, it needs to go before us.
Jesus came to serve, not to be served. That is the pattern for us too. Serving people reveals humility, confirms their value, and shows the love God commands us to have for one another.
Sometimes somebody does not need a long sermon from us. They need the presence of a believer who carries peace, kindness, sacrifice, and the power of God into the room. There should be something different about us.
Accountability and the Power of Your Words
Get someone in your life who will tell you the truth. A spiritual leader, a mature brother, or a faithful sister can help keep you honest before God. Accountability is not condemnation. It is love that helps us avoid becoming a stumbling block.
There should never be a time when the Word of God is being preached and we decide there is nothing for us to receive. The Word has power. A message may cover many things, but one piece of Scripture can go directly into the deepest part of your heart.
Do not quench the Spirit of God.
Pay attention to what you say over your life. Words that agree with lack, hopelessness, and defeat can shape the atmosphere around us. This is not only about money or physical possessions. It touches every crossroads in life, including family, health, purpose, relationships, and faith.
When we stop speaking lack and start agreeing with God, we become better equipped to carry hope into the world. The people of God are not moved merely by what they can see. We focus on becoming equipped so we can go where God needs us.
Prayer and Worship Can Change the Place Where You Stand
One story of Harlem illustrated the power of a person who stays in position before God. In a neglected area marked by discouragement and low expectations, an elderly man connected with a local church began praying and walking the streets.
He did not appear important by the world’s standards. He was simply a man who loved God, prayed faithfully, and was willing to do the work. Over time, the area began to change. People started taking pride in their community. Families and children could be present in the streets. People from different backgrounds began returning.
The point is not that one person gets the glory. God gets the glory. But God works through people who are willing to be available.
Right where you are, God wants to work. That opportunity at your job, that conversation with a neighbor, that person you see while doing yard work, that strained relationship in your home, none of it may be accidental. Worship needs to saturate every opportunity God gives us.
For more messages grounded in practical Christian living and biblical encouragement, explore the Dwaine Thompson video archive.
Potential Is Hidden Ability That Must Mature
Work involves accomplishing, achieving, acting, arranging, bringing about, laboring, managing, and producing. Worship speaks of worthiness, honor, and devotion. When work is offered to the One worthy of honor, it becomes more than labor.
Potential is ability, capability, power, talent, and the makings of what is needed. In other words, it is a hidden ability placed within you that needs to mature and come out.
God has placed something in His people. But hidden potential will not be fully released through human strength alone. Organization, plans, and efficiency are useful, but without the Holy Spirit, what man builds will not last. God’s Word has lasted through every generation, and it will outlast the time we know.
Truth is what sets us free. God’s truth, not the world’s definition of what is possible.
Be in Position Like Samuel
Samuel had heard from God before. He had anointed Saul as king, yet he still had to move past sorrow when Saul failed. God told Samuel not to remain grieving over Saul but to go to Jesse’s house, because God had chosen another king.
Samuel had to obey. He had to go where God directed him, even when the assignment carried risk. At Jesse’s home, Samuel saw the sons who appeared to fit the picture. But God had another choice. David was still out tending the sheep.
Samuel did not sit down until David arrived. When David came in, the Lord made it clear: this is the one. Samuel anointed David, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward. You can read this account in 1 Samuel 16.
What if Samuel had not been obedient? What if he had refused to be in position?
You do not know who God may place in front of you at work, in the grocery store, at school, in your neighborhood, or in your own home. You may see something in someone that others cannot see. God can give insight to recognize what He is doing in another person’s life.
That is why position matters. Prayer creates intimacy with God, and intimacy changes how we see. We begin to see people more like the Father sees them.
Carry God Into Your Home and Relationships
If we want to lead our children, we need to spend time with our Father. Children need to see God at home. They need to see an approachable parent, a person who has spent enough time with God to offer wisdom, peace, correction, and love.
The next generation needs more than information. They need a deposit from people whose lives show that God is real. We need to know His Word, but we also need to live in a way that makes His truth visible.
When worship is real, lack loses its hold on our attention. A person can be going through something terrible and still carry peace that passes human understanding. That peace is available when we humble ourselves before the Lord and say, “It is not about me anymore. I am a vessel. Put me where You want me, teach me, clear my mind, and let me be a blessing.”
Do Not Force People: Love Them With Patience
God is a perfect gentleman. He knows how to deal with every person. We do not have to be invasive, overly forceful, or spiritually strange to show somebody the love of Christ. We do not even need to know every detail about a person to treat them with dignity.
All we need to know is the Savior. The Redeemer has sent us, just as He sent Samuel.
A lesson from a dog named Honcho made this plain. Honcho was untrained, stubborn, and full of energy, but all he really wanted was love. Trying to force him to obey only created frustration. But when patience, affection, and kindness came first, he settled down. He sat. He laid down. He rested.
That brought a reminder of the Father’s patience with us. Sometimes we are stubborn too. Sometimes we want comfort before correction. Yet God is patient, and His purpose is not to manipulate us. His purpose is to grow us up.
Even when life is hot and difficult, we can lay everything at the Father’s feet. God can change a situation in a moment, but His work is not accomplished by force or manipulation. People need to see the love relationship we have with the Father.
The Fear of the Lord Is Love That Keeps Us Close
We need more than surface faith. The world is not slowing down, and we do not compete with darkness. We simply make ourselves available to God.
This requires a healthy fear of the Lord. Not a fear that drives us away from Him, but a reverence that turns us toward love. It is the kind of fear that says, “I do not want to disappoint my Father because I know He loves me.”
It is also the realization that our actions matter. We do not want to make a mockery of God’s name. We do not want our choices to cause a brother or sister to stumble. Deep time with God changes our hearts until our actions begin to resemble the Father.
He corrects us because He loves us. He grows us up because He has purpose for us.
Make Room for God and Live Available
There is no lack when we worship because we become caught up with the Father. Worship may look like tears, laughter, quiet solitude, singing, prayer, stillness, or simply not wanting to leave His presence. The expression is not the point. The relationship is.
God desires a love affair with His people, one that changes the way we see the world. He wants us to see people as people, to recognize that we are better together, and to become vessels of His glory.
Make room for Him. Be available. Ask Him to align your work, family, relationships, neighborhood, and every opportunity with the framework He designed.
Father, let Your Word take root in us. Help us submit to Your will, walk in spirit and truth, love people well, and carry Your peace everywhere You send us. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
For additional biblical encouragement from the Life Springs family, visit the Life Springs Christian Church preaching videos archive.
