Too much work and too few workers: Jesus offered one solution

By Dean Collins

There simply aren’t enough workers to do all the work! How many news articles and sound bites have we heard on this topic lately? Politicians talk about it. Government employees at every level have described the problem and offered solutions or assigned blame for our current reality. But according to Matthew’s Gospel, this isn’t a particularly new problem.

Shortages

Workforce shortages were visible to Jesus as he walked the cities, the villages, and the country roads. His declaration was something like, “There’s plenty of work to do, but we have a laborer problem. There simply aren’t enough people doing the work.”

Jesus didn't tell his followers to post job opportunities on Indeed or any other hiring website. He didn’t ask that the disciples let the government officials know about the problem so they could solve it. But he did have an action item for the situation: “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” It seems that for Jesus the starting point is always the same: Pray.

Prayers

I did a quick web search on Jesus and praying and found a range of 25 - 38 times we see Jesus either praying, teaching us to pray, or telling us to pray. I don’t think it’s important to know the number of times Jesus prayed, but based on the passages in the Gospels, we can see he was often praying. I think it’s fair to assume that Paul got his idea of praying without ceasing from his understanding of Jesus and the constant connection he had with his Father.

So step one to solving the labor problem is earnestly praying. Pray earnestly that God will raise up people who seek first his kingdom and therefore respond with kingdom acts of love and kindness to everyone around. This is kingdom work. The harvest work that needs to be done isn’t just on the distant shores of Africa or in the middle of China; it is everywhere. God desires that we take up the cross and follow him in doing acts of kindness and extending his love and grace wherever we are and wherever we go.

Impact

When we work we will get tired. I had a boss tell me one time that if we do good work we will experience a good tired. There is satisfaction in knowing your good day’s work helped accomplish something meaningful. But sometimes as we do our jobs, we cannot see the good they are doing. Fixing that spreadsheet doesn’t seem to have kingdom impact. Neither does mopping the floors or dealing with an angry customer. But all of our work has the potential to make a kingdom impression on our coworkers and benefit others even when we can’t see the connection.

It is probably worth the time in prayer to ask God to reveal to you the impact your job can have on his kingdom. Jesus taught us that our greatest work is in serving others even in simple ways: a kind word, a drink of water, a visit to the sick—any act of service is used by God to extend his kingdom.

Rest

Just two chapters after Jesus spoke of the labor shortage and the importance of praying for God to fill the labor pool, Jesus offered us hope and rest when we get overwhelmed and tired. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wear myself out from working too hard. I will confess I have a strong sense of responsibility. In fact, sometimes too strong. And when I take on too much I exhaust myself, become frustrated and discouraged, and can get a little cranky. In these moments I discover once again that I have made a serious mistake. I have taken on more burdens than I can carry. I have assumed I was the only one who could get things done.

In Matthew 11: 28-30 Jesus’ words bring conviction and relief. Yes, we are to work but no, we aren’t to do it alone or take on all of the responsibility. Jesus offers us his invitation simply to come to him and allow him to give us rest.

His agreement is that if we do this together with him instead of stepping out on our own, we will find rest for the body and for the soul. He offers his yoke, which gives us a constant connection to him and the ability to do the work he is doing and wants to do with us and through us.

Roadblocks

My list of things to do right now is long. And the barriers and roadblocks are many. Honestly, it’s a bigger job than I can do. I bet I am not alone.

So let’s tackle our problem together. Let’s pray that the Lord of the harvest would raise up more kingdom servants. Let’s make sure we submit to the yoke of Christ so that we don’t get too far from our source of strength. And let’s rest in the assurance that God will meet every need, and at the end of the day we will feel a good sense of tired because we did it his way instead of ours.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭9:36-38, ‬‭11:28-29‬ ‭ESV

Photo by jay from cudahy, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons‬‬

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