Daily Devotional
Work Despite the Dragon
The servants of God do not labor in a quiet field. Nehemiah builds with enemies plotting, Ecclesiastes bids a man sow though he cannot rule the wind, and Revelation shows the ancient dragon raging against the woman and her child. So the faithful life is not ease, but steadfast work under threat.
Nehemiah would not come down from the wall for intrigue, fear, or religious pretense. The work was the Lord’s, and therefore delay was disobedience. As Tertullian says, “For it was not their own work, but God's, which they executed, and that too, from His express commandment.” Therefore the threats of men, and even the speech of false prophets, must not turn us aside. There is a time to refuse a meeting, to reject a fearful word, and to keep one’s hand to the task God has plainly commanded.
Yet Ecclesiastes forbids presumption as much as sloth. We do not know the secret work of God, nor can we command the times. “As you know not the bones in the womb of her that is with child, so you shall not know the works of God.” Therefore sow in the morning and at evening; give to seven and also to eight; do the good that is in front of you. The dragon is real, evil days are real, and outcomes are hidden. Still, bread cast upon the waters is not wasted when offered in obedience.
The Church herself bears this mark: travail before joy, conflict before vindication. The child is caught up to God; the dragon does not win. Therefore let no servant of Christ abandon prayer, almsgiving, purity, or honest labor because opposition is fierce. Finish the wall. Scatter your bread. Endure the rage of the serpent.
“For it was not their own work, but God's, which they executed, and that too, from His express commandment.”
— Tertullian, Against Marcion
“As you know not the bones in the womb of her that is with child, so you shall not know the works of God.”
— Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments
For Reflection & Discussion
What plain duty have you delayed because of fear, distraction, or the opinions of others, and when today will you return to it without coming down from the wall?
What portion of bread, money, or practical help will you give this week to the poor, the sick, or a brother in need, since you do not know what evil may come upon the earth?
Whose speech has made you timid or confused in obeying Christ, and what false counsel must you reject so that you may keep to prayer, purity, and the work given you?
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