2. We must manage our daily business for Him.
1. We must cast our daily cares upon Him.
Each day brings fresh cares, more or less, which wake with us every morning. We do not need to borrow trouble from tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Those of you who are heavily involved in the world's business often carry your cares with you all day. Though you may keep them to yourselves, they are always present—sitting with you, rising with you, going out with you, and coming in with you. These burdens are often greater than those around you can perceive. Some, because of the weakness of their spirits, can hardly make decisions without fear and trembling.
Let this burden be cast upon the Lord, trusting that His providence extends to all your affairs, to every event that concerns you, and even to the smallest and seemingly most accidental circumstances. Believe that your times are in His hand and all your ways are under His control. Trust His promise that all things work together for good to them that love God, and then commit everything to Him, trusting Him to do what seems good in His sight. Rest satisfied in having done so, and resolve to remain at peace. Bring your cares to God by prayer in the morning. Lay them before Him, and then demonstrate throughout the day, by the composed and cheerful state of your spirit, that you have left them with Him—just as Hannah did. After she prayed, she went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad (1 Samuel 1:18).
Commit your way to the Lord, and then submit to how He chooses to dispose of it, even if it crosses your expectations. Rest in the assurance God has given you—that He will care for you as tenderly as a loving father cares for his child.
2. We must manage our daily business for Him.
Whatever our calling or employment, we must conduct ourselves with an eye to God's providence, acknowledging that He has placed us in our roles. We must obey His precepts, working diligently as He commands. With an eye on His blessing, we should seek His favour to make our work fruitful and successful. Above all, we must work with the ultimate aim of glorifying Him. This sanctifies our everyday actions, sweetens them, and makes them more pleasant to us.
If Gaius escorts his friends a little way on their journey, it might seem like a small act of courtesy. However, when done after a godly sort—to honour them as Christ's followers and to glorify Christ—it becomes an act of Christian piety (3 John 1:6). This principle governs all we do each day: Whatever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17). By doing so, we wait on God through Christ, our Mediator.
This principle is especially commended to servants. Even though their work may seem humble, and they are under the authority of earthly masters, they should perform their tasks as the servants of Christ, working as unto the Lord, and not unto men. They should work with sincerity, as if working directly for Christ. Such work will be accepted by Him, and He will reward them with the inheritance He has promised (Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-24).
Servants, in faithfully and conscientiously carrying out their day's work, wait on God all the day. In doing so, they bring honour to the doctrine of God our Saviour by seeking His glory even in ordinary tasks. They work to earn their bread, but they seek bread to live, and they live—not for themselves or their own pleasure—but to serve God and please Him. Their work fills their time and their place in the world because the God who created and sustains us has commanded that with quietness we work, and mind our own business.