In the opening chapter of the Bible, God put His ultimate creative power as the one true God on display. As He created all that we see now, he would say, multiple times - “And God saw that it was good”. Six times in total He says that, in one chapter alone, and the seventh time He says, after creating man in His own image - “And God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”
I was struck by the fact that after He spent time and creative energy speaking things and ordering things into existence, he didn’t just move on without acknowledging what He made. If the magnificent God can delight in what He made, and it wasn’t deemed prideful - because He is sinless; then surely we ought to emulate Him. Reflecting long enough to ‘see that the work of our hands’ is good, is an act of gratitude toward the One who gave us the ability to make wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), the sound mind needed to create and reflect (2 Timothy 1:7), and the heart to have that desire in the first place (Philippians 2:13).
The culture of today is that of rushing to conquer the next mountain, setting and crushing the next lofty goal and it often leaves no room to gaze on the current win and ‘see that it is good’. And that inability to recognize the hand of God as reflected in today’s progress, has led many of us to anxiously wonder if we'll ever do or be enough. When in fact, Jesus’ sacrifice for our lives cloaks us with worthiness.
I wholeheartedly believe that every single act (or avoidance of an act) by God is intentional, and useful for our learning. Nothing was done casually without deliberate thought, and the details provided in the age old creation story is no different. If our heavenly Father wanted us to take note of his attention and pause amidst such extensive work, we ought to listen!
So what work are you privileged to do in this season? What are you creating with what’s in your hands? And one more question - are you adequately esteeming the work assigned to you? Or are you wasting time comparing it to the shinier looking work your friends get to do?
Remember, we are to “work willingly at whatever we do, as though we were working for the Lord rather than for people” Colossians 3:23 and to live contentedly while doing so; “for godliness with contentment brings great gain” 1 Timothy 6:6. And I don’t know about you, but I sure do want great gain!
So I encourage you, as I encourage myself, to continually take those necessary moments to pause, and acknowledge how far you have come. As we reflect throughout this new year on the good that God will bring (because that's who He is! - Psalm 119:68) , we will greatly diminish the need for comparing with others and sparking jealousy.