Our Daily Bread Devotional January 4, 2024 ODB Message
Read Our Daily Bread Devotional January 4, 2024, Thursday ODB Message written by Adam Holz and Today’s Insight By Arthur Jackson
Topic: Quiet Faithfulness in Christ
Bible in a Year: Genesis 10–12; Matthew 4
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands. – 1 Thessalonians 4:11
Today’s Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:1–2,9–12
Our Daily Bread Devotional January 4, 2024 Insight
Waiting for the second coming of Jesus is a consistent theme in Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians (see 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-17; 5:1-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; 2:1-12). The subject of work is also prominent (see 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 5:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12). Paul’s labor for the gospel resulted in the establishing of the church, but he also labored with his hands: “We worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you” (1 Thessalonians 2:9). “Waiting” and “working” should characterize believers in Jesus until He returns.
Our Daily Bread Devotional January 4, 2024 Message:
I didn’t notice him at first.
I’d come down for breakfast at my hotel. Everything in the dining room was clean. The buffet table was filled. The refrigerator was stocked, the utensil container packed tight. Everything was perfect.
Then I saw him. An unassuming man refilled this, wiped that. He didn’t draw attention to himself. But the longer I sat, the more I was amazed. The man was working very fast, noticing everything, and refilling everything before anyone might need something. As a food service veteran, I noticed his constant attention to detail. Everything was perfect because this man was working faithfully—even if few noticed.
Watching this man work so meticulously, I recalled Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands . . . so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders” (1 Thessalonians 4:11–12). Paul understood how a faithful worker might win others’ respect—offering a quiet testimony to how the gospel can infuse even seemingly small acts of service for others with dignity and purpose.
I don’t know if the man I saw that day was a believer in Jesus. But I’m grateful his quiet diligence reminded me to rely on God to live out a quiet faithfulness that reflects His faithful ways.
Reflect & Pray
How should your faith affect the way you work? In what ways is being a faithful worker a powerful testimony?
Father, please help me to remember that there are no small jobs in Your kingdom and to faithfully serve You each day.
READ ALSO: Streams of Joy Devotional January 4, 2024 – See the One that Sees You
Our Daily Bread Devotional January 4, 2024, Thursday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.