Taking the Initiative Against Drudgery

Arise, shine . . . —Isaiah 60:1

When it comes to taking the initiative against drudgery, we have to take the first step as though there were no God. There is no point in waiting for God to help us— He will not. But once we arise, immediately we find He is there. Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue— a matter of obedience. Then we must act to be obedient and not continue to lie down doing nothing. If we will arise and shine, drudgery will be divinely transformed.

Drudgery is one of the finest tests to determine the genuineness of our character. Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine. Read John 13. In this chapter, we see the Incarnate God performing the greatest example of drudgery— washing fishermen’s feet. He then says to them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. In some cases the way a person does a task makes that work sanctified and holy forever. It may be a very common everyday task, but after we have seen it done, it becomes different. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it. Our Lord takes our human flesh and transforms it, and now every believer’s body has become “the temple of the Holy Spirit”. 

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應付苦差的動力

興起發光（賽六十1）

我們踏上第一步，好像神沒有在那裡一般。空等神來幫助是無濟於事的，他不會來；然而當我們有所行動，就發現他在那裡了。神的感動往往是道德性的。我們不要老是呆在那裡，像一根方木似的，是要起來行動。只要興起發光，苦差便在神的光中變相。

苦差是磨練人最佳的試金石。苦差不是理想的工作，而是最低賤的工作。但一觸及這些工作，就立刻知道我們的屬靈情況 [屬靈的實際 ]。約翰福音十三章記載：道成肉身的神作了一 件最不討好的苦差，就是洗漁夫的腳。他說：[我是你們的主，尚且洗你們的腳，你們也當彼此洗腳。 ]苦差需要神的感動，有神的光照在其中。有些人做一件事，便有好的表現，使那件事染上光彩。可能是一件極普通的事，但當他們做過之後，就完全不同了。每當主叫我們做事，他總叫那事變了形象。我們的主披上了血肉之體，叫它改變形象，使之成為聖徒聖靈的殿。

祈禱◆讓神的氣息吹向我，直至我的意念和心靈能適當地調校向你。求你在我們當中和我們心內，散發自由、純潔和能力。