Filled with God's Holy Spirit for Everyday Work | Devotion

“Then Moses said to the Israelites, ‘See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts…” —EXODUS 35:30-31

The way in which the fullness of the Holy Spirit works in our lives is not seen supremely on Sundays. It’s seen supremely in the cut and thrust of our lives throughout the week.

The fullness of the Holy Spirit is not something which brings a higher level of Christian living. It is God’s intended resource for normal Christian living. The first person to be described as being filled with the Holy Spirit is a man in the Old Testament, named Bezalel. He was filled with the Spirit for the task of constructing God’s tabernacle, built so that the Israelites could carry it with them, and to be God’s holy sanctuary where the people could meet with Him through the intermediary of the priesthood. 

Bezalel was filled with the Spirit for all kinds of crafts to make artistic designs from gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones and to work with wood and metal. This is very down to earth and practical work. Normally, we tend to think that being filled with the Holy Spirit is something we should pray for to be an effective witness. To work practically with our hands is not usually something we associate with the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, yet Bezalel was filled with the Spirit precisely for that reason. 

The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to be something we are conscious of and experience in our everyday work lives. In whatever job we have, there is an eternal dimension and a divine agenda behind the daily grind. If our Christian experience is basically going from a Sunday morning fix to a Sunday morning fix, then we are missing out on the excitement and adventure that God intends for the Christian life. It is, of course, good and necessary that we meet on Sundays for encouragement, instruction and worship together, but it’s actually an equipping in that we take the Spirit of God and the Lord Jesus with whom we meet in church, and bring Him back into our workplaces, homes and communities. 

All the practical working of Bezalel’s hands served as a conduit for God’s glory, and that is something we can incorporate into our lives with the understanding that God’s purpose is that we become a means of God displaying Himself through us. Our work-a-day lives are not simply about putting food on the table, but about having food that never spoils; food that endures eternally, and we can be sure it will involve enriching other people. It’s looking beyond the mundane to the magnificent, and seeing a much bigger picture of why God has placed us where we are in our work. 

Dear Lord, keep me mindful that throughout the entire week I have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. May His work in me be the means of drawing others to You. Thank You, Lord. 

Am I working for food that never spoils?