Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)
I was thinking about oxen this week.
No, I do not regularly think about oxen.
However, last week I was in a conversation that led to this curiosity. After some research I found myself focused on a few things.
The ox is a very strong animal. Teams of oxen were instrumental in hauling families’ loads in countless wagons across the American West to settle it in the 1800’s. Without the strength of these very patient and enduring beasts, settlement would have been much more difficult.
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. (Proverbs 14:4 ESV)
Before modern equipment, oxen were vital to agricultural production. They had strength to plow and help with other tasks related to food production. Like other livestock, they required care and could make a mess, but they were essential for productivity. And that productivity fed the community.
You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing [to prevent him from eating any of the grain]. (Deuteronomy 25:4 AMP)
Animals (and other workers) should be allowed to benefit from their labor. Self explanatory.
Why am I writing a post about this? Because I’ve been thinking about the strength it takes to lead people.
Whether you manage a day care, oversee bible studies, lead a church, run a business, teach in a classroom, or serve in a plethora of other leading ways, you need God’s strength. Leading people is not for “sissies,” because people are complicated and messy and complex and sinful and….well, people. God’s infinite creativity has led to an unlimited supply of “interesting” people, and leading any group of those people takes an infusion of wisdom, grace, and strength.
Today, let us pray for the leaders in our society.
Strong God,
You are our rock, fortress, stronghold, and deliverer, the One in whom we take refuge. We thank you for your ever present strength in our lives, whether we recognize it or not. Today we pray for people who lead people – specifically, that you would give them great strength in their leadership. May they have spiritual, emotional, and physical stamina to navigate times of rich bounty and times of dry or messy circumstances. May they be patient and enduring, unfazed by opposition or challenges, determined and immovable, as they draw on your Word, your Spirit, and your Wisdom.
Give them visions and master strategies as they lead and manage their people and as they plan for the future. Help them to steward the revelations you give them so they can create pathways for the movement of your Spirit and build according to your Kingdom’s calling. We pray they will be humble, steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord their labor is not in vain. We ask these things in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:1-2 ESV)