One of our favorite Bible verses about hard work is, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24) This pretty much says it all.
If you hold yourself accountable to work such a way that you are striving to please the Father, being diligent and disciplined to do your best, you will find yourself being empowered by the Spirit to live out what Oswald Chambers famously wrote as being “My Utmost for His Highest.”
Table of Contents
Working Hard to Develop a Spirit of Excellence
Mama Z and I dedicated an entire episode of our Natural Living Family podcast to talking about developing a spirit of excellence because of how important this concept has been in informing my work and life. I had to learn how to focus my energy in a godly direction.
We were created for work. One way to stay disciplined with your hard work is to remember who created us for work in the first place. Right from the beginning, God made us to work and to care for the world around us. Yes, the job became more difficult after the fall and after sin entered the world, but work itself was there from the beginning.
Plan. Plan. Plan. Mama Z has a saying that “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance” and we find that it’s always easier to work when we know what we are working towards. That’s why setting clear goals is so important.
Work requires wise action. Proverbs tells us, “In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” We have to create a smart plan, but then we need to take steps to move forward with that plan.
I think one of the most important things to remember is that when you are working, you are working for the Lord. It’s not your own glory you’re working towards, but the glory of the Lord. We aren’t working just for temporary gains but for eternity because of the way the Lord has set us free.
Old Testament Bible Verses About Hard Work & Discipline
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
~ Genesis 2:15
“Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him.”
~ Deuteronomy 8:5-6
“Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.”
~ 2 Chronicles 31:21
“Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.”
~ Job 5:17-18
“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.”
~ Proverbs 13:4
“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”
~ Proverbs 22:29
“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!”
~ Psalm 90:17
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in His sleep.”
~ Psalm 127:2
“When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you.”
~ Psalm 128:2
“The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.”
~ Ecclesiastes 5:12
“Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was with him. And the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
~ Daniel 6:3
“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”
~ Proverbs 12:11
“In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
~ Proverb 14:23
New Testament Bible Verses About Hard Work & Discipline
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
~ Matthew 5:16
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
~ Matthew 11:28
“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
~ John 6:27
“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
~ Acts 20:35
“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”
~ Romans 12:11
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
~ 1 Corinthians 10:31
“For by grace you have been saved and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
~ Ephesians 2:8-10
“Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
~ Philippians 2:14-15
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
~ Colossians 3:23
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
~ Colossians 3:24
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
~ 2 Timothy 2:6
