Our Favorite Bible Stories (pt 4)

Editor’s Note: All Scripture is “God-breathed and useful” for us (2 Tim. 3:16), but there are passages that seem to stick with each of us in special ways for various reasons. Our Arrowhead Church staff has been asked to share their favorite Bible stories or passages and write about why that portion of Scripture is so meaningful to them. Today’s entry is from Jessica Martin.

When the Work Feels Ordinary

One of my favorite Scriptures is 1 Corinthians 15:58:

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

I love this verse because it reminds me that what we do matters—even when it doesn't always feel like it does.

Life can get overwhelming. There are meals to make, houses to clean, children to raise, jobs to do, errands to run, people to care for, and countless little things that fill our days. So much of life is made up of ordinary responsibilities that have to be done over and over again. Sometimes we can look at everything on our to-do list and wonder, Does any of this really matter?

This verse reminds me that it does.

Paul tells us that our “labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I find so much encouragement in those words because they remind me that God sees value in the things that may feel insignificant to me. The work doesn't have to be glamorous, exciting, or even noticed by anyone else to matter to Him.

Paul doesn't say that everything we do will always feel fruitful. He doesn't say that we'll always see the results of our work. But he reminds us that when our labor is in the Lord, it is never wasted.

A load of laundry, a difficult conversation, a day at work, helping a child with homework, caring for a family member, preparing a meal, serving a neighbor, or simply being faithful in the responsibilities God has placed in front of us—none of it is wasted when it is done for the Lord.

And that changes the way I want to approach my everyday life.

I don't want to spend my days simply trying to get through my list of things to do. I want to seek to do what I do for Him and in Him. I want to remember that faithfulness isn't always found in the big, noticeable moments. More often, it's found in the small, ordinary choices we make day after day.

There will always be more to do. Some days will feel productive, and others will feel like we worked all day and have very little to show for it. But our worth—and the value of our work—isn't determined by how much we accomplish or how much anyone else notices.

So when the work feels ordinary, repetitive, or even exhausting, I want to remember this:

My labor in the Lord is not in vain.

God sees the faithfulness that no one else sees. He can use the ordinary things we do in extraordinary ways. And because of that, we can keep going—steadfast and immovable—not striving to prove that what we do matters, but trusting that when we do it for Him, it already does.