Open Heaven 9 April 2025: No More Labouring 1
MEMORISE: Matthew 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
READ: Luke 5:1-7
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.nd in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional Here
In 1963, while I was a teacher at Ondo Boys’ High School in South-West Nigeria, I was teaching 35 lesson periods every week.
Another tutor, who had more experience and qualifications than me, was teaching just 21 lesson periods every week. He was earning tour times more than I was earning and was still grumbling about the workload. I went to him and said, “Sir, you are teaching 21 lesson periods while l am teaching 35, yet you are earning four times what l am earning, and you are complaining.” He drew me close, patted me, and said, “My boy, you don’t understand. I’m being paid for what I have already done. I’m being paid for what is in my brain.” While I was labouring and earning peanuts, the other teacher wasn’t working as hard, yet he was earning more.
There is a difference between working diligently and labouring. A manual labourer has to work very hard to get little pay. You can’t call a manager a labourer; both of them go to their workplaces in the morning, but one goes to work, and the other goes to labour.
Even though a manager arrives at the office very early every day and works hard, he or she gets paid something worthwhile for his or her efforts. In Genesis 2:15, God gave Adam a garden to tend. Some Bible scholars have described the Garden of Eden to be as big as Lagos, Nigeria. To ask one man to keep a garden of that size requires a lot of work.
However, Adam was working, not labouring. After he fell into sin, he began to labour (Genesis 3:17-19), such that when he worked, he sweated – it wasn’t recorded that he sweated before this time. Additionally, after labouring and sweating, the ground yielded thorns and thistles.
In Luke 5:5, Peter toiled all night and caught nothing – that is labouring. Even though he worked hard all night, he had nothing to show for it. However, Peter’s labouring days ended when Jesus came into his life. If you have been labouring and you want your labouring days to come to an end, rebuild your connection with God, and He will put an end to fruitless labours in your life forever.
Beloved, if for whatever reason, you are experiencing fruitless labour even though you have surrendered your life to Christ and are living according to His will, I decree that the Lord will step into your situation today and put an end to labouring in your life, in Jesus’ name.
KEY POINT: An active connection with God will ensure that you do not experience fruitless labour.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 1-2
Open Heaven 9 April 2025
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