Drudgery—that hard, dull, seemingly unimportant work that no one wants to do—is one of the finest tests of character there is. Drudge work is utterly lowly and grubby. It requires us to get our hands dirty. It requires us to make an effort when we feel no motivation or divine inspiration. With drudgery, we have to take the first step as if there were no God. It’s no use waiting for God to help us: he will not. But the second we arise, we find he is there.
Whenever we come into contact with drudgery, we know immediately whether or not we are spiritually real. In the book of John, we see Jesus—God incarnate, the highest and holiest of beings—doing the lowliest kind of work: washing feet. “No servant is greater than his master,” he tells the disciples (13:16). Jesus brings himself down to the level of a servant, yet the moment he begins performing his lowly task, the work is transfigured. God’s light shines upon it, and it stops being lowly and becomes divine. Whenever we allow God to do a thing through us, he always transfigures it into something divine, just as he took on human flesh and transfigured it.
Every person who has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside them is a divine temple for our Lord. Keep this in mind whenever you’re faced with drudgery. If you arise and shine, no matter the task, the glory of the Lord will rise with you.
