“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
The original Greek word for ‘enthusiastically’ is perisseuó – περισσεύω – meaning “exceeding the ordinary.” That sounds like some holy hustle! God wants you to exceed the ordinary in your marriage! He wants you to exceed the ordinary in your grades. He wants you to exceed the ordinary in your occupation. Here’s what the Scripture is basically saying, “Always hustle for the Lord.” Do more than what others are doing!
Here’s the reality: “God never blesses lazy.”
Proverbs 10:4 declares, “Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.” You see, we can pray, ask God to help us, but if we are not doing anything to help ourselves God cannot bless lazy. Here’s another principle: “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper” (Proverbs 13:4). Sounds like hard work is holy to God!
Exceed the ordinary.
If you want the next 5 years to be more than unexpected then you have to do more than what others are doing! And sometimes more is just different. Ordinary people do ordinary things, but the extra-ordinary is accomplished when the ordinary do a little extra!
Live with a holy hustle.
Excellence starts in the shadows long before it is seen in the spotlight.
That’s exactly what happened to Daniel. 120 other men were serving under Darius. But Daniel stood out. “Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm” (Daniel 6:3). Daniel was excellent in the shadows, long before he was hustled in the spotlight.
Have you ever thought: “When I get that promotion I will work harder?” Or “When that door opens up I will give more than others?” No, excellence should be part of your DNA today. If you are a waiter/waitress do it with excellence – you may end up a manager. You see, all too often, people want the success of others without their work ethic.
Long before I ever preached a sermon – I was cleaning toilets, folding bulletins, pulling weeds, painting walls and more – all behind the scenes. I believe God has open doors for my life because excellence is not something I do – it is part of who I am. It was those seasons of vacuuming church auditoriums that I was determined to have straight rows & chairs. I wanted the straightest rows possible (to be honest, I still want them straight) - because excellence matters at all levels.
The Bible declares, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Colossians 3:23). No matter what you do in life you are doing it for God - do it with excellence.
Live with a holy hustle and exceed ordinary!