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 NLT
Paul finally winds up the long chapter of 12 Corinthians 15 with an exhortation in three parts: “be strong”, “[be] immovable”, and “always work enthusiastically for the Lord”. We need to dig a bit deeper to understand what Paul was saying, however.
To be strong isn’t encouragement to continue our gym membership and to persevere in building up our natural bodies. There is nothing of eternal value in that. One scripture that comes to mind was the time after Moses died, and the Lord spoke directly to Joshua, his successor. Joshua 1 commences with God telling Joshua about all the land that the Israelites were going to possess, and He continues with “be strong and courageous” in verse 6, followed by “be strong and very courageous” in verse 7. But in the pursuit of strength and courage, God made the first priority clear to Joshua. It wasn’t to make sure all the swords had been sharpened, or to ensure that the Israelites had been properly trained. It was “ … Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do” (Joshua 1:7-8). God told Joshua that if he and the people kept their eyes firmly on Him and were obedient to all that He had told them, then they would be successful in their campaign to possess the Promised Land. The next verse sums this up, “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
To be immovable is a rare quality in today’s world. Hardly a day goes by without some new teaching or new ideology emerging from society’s cesspit of secular, devil-inspired thinking. Our politicians seem to have abandoned the Bible-inspired morality that has founded our nation, and people everywhere have ended up like a ship without a rudder, blown this way and that by the winds of adversity and ideologies, choosing lifestyles and worldviews that match exactly the last words of the Book of Judges, “ … all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes”. But what was Paul referring to with his exhortation to be immovable? We have a Rock on which we stand while the ungodly around us stagger in a bog and fog of confusion, worldliness and sin. Evil pushes otherwise good people around, and they lose their way, ending their lives as confused as when they started. If only the ungodly in our society would turn to God and follow His ways, then the fog would clear, and they would find themselves safe and secure in God’s hands. To be immovable means to follow what God said to Joshua, “Study this Book of Instruction continually”. Soaking our minds and hearts in God’s Word and living them out, even while the storms of life are raging around us, will result in us pilgrims becoming immovable. When some new ideology or societal trend emerges, we can turn to God’s Word and find the Rock on which we can stand. We can be encouraged by the verses in Hebrews 12, “This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshipping him with holy fear and awe” (Hebrews 12:27-28). The next verse reminds us that all things not of God will burn up one day and disappear. We read, “For our God is a devouring fire”. So we turn our eyes upon Jesus, “the author and perfector of our faith”.
Paul continued with “always work enthusiastically for the Lord”. We all know what work is all about. We work at a job or profession to earn a living. We work out in a gym to build muscle tone and fitness. The concept of work is inbuilt within us and has been ever since the days of Adam, when he heard the consequences of his sin: “And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it” (Genesis 3:17). Life was easy for Adam before the Fall.
In days past, a prison sentence was often accompanied by the addition of “hard labour”, and I remember seeing a device used to apply this in the Inverary Jail museum. It was a large cylindrical device with a counter and a handle, filled with sand. The prisoner had to work at completing so many revolutions per day as part of their hard labour tariff. A pointless exercise, but one that illuminates what many consider about work, a merry-go-round of meaningless activity, and to be endured until the time comes to “clock off”.
But what is “working for the Lord”? It is not, as some maintain, being a minister or pastor. A missionary or Christian charity worker. In working for the Lord, we acknowledge that every task we perform—whether it’s a high-level job, a mundane chore, or schoolwork—is actually an act of worship directed toward God. When we work for the Lord, our “boss” isn’t just the person who pays our wages. We act as if God Himself is our direct supervisor. This means that we don’t settle for “good enough” or do the bare minimum; instead, we strive for quality because we are offering our work as a gift to God, and we work just as hard when no one is watching because we know God sees our effort. Martin Luther famously taught that a milkmaid milking a cow is doing God’s work just as much as a priest, provided she does it to the best of her ability for God’s glory.
Paul concludes this verse with the thought that “nothing [we] do for the Lord is ever useless“. We may feel that we are wasting our time, like the prisoner interminably cranking a handle in a prison cell. But what the Lord sees is a willing heart doing its best in often trying and difficult circumstances. And in the process, treasures are credited to our account in Heaven.
Dear Father God. We read that You “placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it”. Thank You that You have work for us to do as well, and we pray that we do it to the best of our abilities. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 