Paul exhorts us to use our bodies, not as instruments of sin, but as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:12-13).  One way we can do this is by using our hands to do the work of the Lord.

Psalm 90:17 (ESV)
¹⁷  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

The church needs workers.  It does not need perfect people, and that is a good thing since there are no perfect people in the church.  The church does not need people of extraordinary talent, though there are some very talented people in the Lord’s church.  No, what the church needs now, and what the church has always needed, is people who are willing to work.  We need brethren who are willing to put their hands on the plow and labor in the Lord’s field.  Are you a worker in the kingdom of God?  There is more involved in being a useful member of the Lord’s church than showing up on Sunday for worship service.  Do not get me wrong—you must not forsake the assembling of the saints (Hebrews 10:25).  However, Christianity is more than that.  We should all learn what talent God has blessed us with and use it as often as we can.  When you get a chance, read Matthew 25:14-30 and see how God feels about those who refuse to use the talents He has given to them.

Paul is a great example of someone who gave his hands to the Lord.  He was a tireless worker.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (ESV)
¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.              

The grace of God was important to Paul, and he wrote about it abundantly.  He viewed everything he was and had in Christ as a gift given to him by God’s grace.  He knew he would not be a Christian, let alone an apostle of Christ, were it not for the grace of God, and he was not about to allow that grace to be unproductive in his life.  Paul took advantage of the grace of God by working harder than any of the other apostles.  Do you realize that you were saved by grace?  We all were, and we should be as appreciative as Paul was, and demonstrate it by working as hard as we can for the Lord.

The work of the Lord is unending.  We could work day and night, in evangelism, and not finish the job.  There will always be souls that need saving.  There will always be saints who need building up (edification), and brethren in need (benevolence).  Let us not stand on the sidelines while others do the work that Jesus gave the church to do.  Instead, let us labor now so that we might have true rest later.  The Hebrews writer said, “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest…” (Hebrews 4:11).  He was speaking of the rest of heaven.  John wrote about it too.

Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.

The rest in heaven will be glorious.  We will have rest from all the trials and tribulations that we must suffer through in this life.  We will have rest from the constant struggle against sin and all the attacks of the devil.  What a wonderful place heaven will be.  First, though, we must give our hands to the Lord and work.  If you want the rest, you better put in the work.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.