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The PursueGOD Men's podcast helps guys apply God's Word to their lives to become full circle followers of Jesus. Join us for a new men's episode every other Thursday.
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Working as Unto the Lord – Part 4: Thorns, Thistles, and a Better Name
Work is a universal human experience. Whether you love your job, tolerate it, or feel stuck in it, work shapes our schedules, identities, and sense of purpose. In this series, Working as Unto the Lord, we’ve been exploring what the Bible teaches about work—not just as a paycheck or obligation, but as something deeply connected to God’s design for humanity. In this fourth lesson, we face an honest truth: work is good, but it is also deeply frustrating. And that tension is not accidental.
From the beginning, work was part of God’s good creation. Adam was given responsibility in the garden before sin ever entered the world. Work itself is not the curse. But because of the fall, work no longer functions the way it was originally intended. What was meant to be joyful and productive is now marked by struggle, disappointment, and exhaustion.
Genesis 3:17–19 (NLT) describes this reality clearly. God tells Adam that the ground itself is cursed because of sin. Humanity will now scrape a living from the earth “by the sweat of your brow,” battling thorns and thistles along the way. Gardening becomes a picture of all human labor. No matter the field—business, education, medicine, manufacturing, or ministry—our work will include resistance, setbacks, and frustration. Even when it produces fruit, it rarely delivers the deep fulfillment we hope for.
This explains why work often feels discouraging. If every project succeeded, every relationship at work was healthy, and every effort paid off, we would love going to work every day. But that is not our reality. Because sin has distorted creation, work exists in a world sustained by God yet disordered by sin. This does not mean work is meaningless—but it does mean it is incomplete.
Ecclesiastes helps us live wisely in this tension. Ecclesiastes 2:24 (NLT) says, “There is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.” Work is still a gift, even when it’s frustrating. It teaches dependence on God and stirs our longing for the new heaven and new earth, where work will finally be free from futility.
Ecclesiastes 3:13 reinforces this truth: “People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.” Satisfaction doesn’t come from perfect productivity but from receiving work as a gift rather than a god. God uses our work not only to provide but also to shape us—producing patience, faithfulness, self-control, and humility.
However, work becomes deeply discouraging when we expect it to give us ultimate meaning. Ecclesiastes 2:18–22 exposes the emptiness of working only for temporary and material gain. Everything we build will eventually be handed off to someone else, and we have no control over how it will be stewarded. When work is viewed only “under the sun,” it is fleeting—like vapor. It cannot secure our future hope or lasting joy.
Work also becomes dangerous when it turns inward. Genesis 11:1–4 tells the story of the Tower of Babel, where people worked together not to serve God or others, but to “make a name for ourselves.” In biblical language, making a name means constructing an identity. This temptation is especially strong when we tie our worth to our careers. Instead of serving our neighbor, work becomes a way to prove we matter.
But Scripture offers a better name. 1 John 3:1 (NLT) declares, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” Our identity is not earned through productivity or success. It is received by grace. We are sons and daughters of God, even on our worst days.
Esther 4:14 reminds us that God places us where we are for a purpose greater than ourselves. The question is not whether our work will make us famous, but whether we will use it to serve God’s interests rather than our own.
Work will always involve thorns and thistles in this life. But when done unto the Lord, it becomes a place of worship, service, and hope—pointing us toward the day when work will finally be everything it was meant to be.
