When You Work for the Church

Do you have a daily spiritual practice that both refreshes and supports your life and ministry? That helps you bring your life and ministry to God in prayerful reflection?

For me, it’s keeping a daily gratitude list.

Some of the psalms might have started as gratitude lists too. Like the many psalms that celebrate and give thanks for the work of God in creation:

• “You establish the mountains by your strength” (Psalm 65:6).
• “God forms clouds at the far corners of the earth” (Psalm 135:7).
• “God gives food to the animals” (Psalm 147:9).

In Psalm 145, the psalmist contemplates the work of God in a different way—not by focusing on those things seen with physical eyesight, but on things unseen:

• One generation “will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness; they will shout joyfully about your righteousness” (v. 7).
• “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, very patient, and full of faithful love. The Lord is good to everyone and everything” (vv. 8–9).
• “The Lord supports all who fall down, straightens up all who are bent low” (v. 14).
• “The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to him, to all who call out to him sincerely” (v. 18).

As I reflect on my daily gratitude lists of the last year, I realize how much I have focused on the more tangible blessings of God: on the people and things that I have been able to see and touch. It’s right, good, and beautiful to give thanks in that way. But Psalm 145 challenges me to contemplate God’s wondrous works more broadly, to give thanks for those things that I am not able to see directly:

• God’s love and compassion.
• God’s righteousness.
• God’s faithful presence.
• These, too, are wondrous works of God!

So for my gratitude list last night, I included both tangible and intangible reasons to give thanks:

• grateful for the safe arrival of family from out of town.
• grateful that I was able to get the right part to fix my vacuum cleaner.
• grateful for the opportunity to talk with new pastors and chaplains on being grounded in God’s call and developing a personal vision for ministry.
• Thank you, God, for these tangible things that give evidence of your work, and for your unseen protection, goodness, and grace. Your mercies are new every day.

In the 2026 Spring issue of Rejoice!, our writers cast a wide net as they contemplate the work of God—in providing practical, tangible things and in less obvious yet powerful acts of love, protection, and compassion. May you be inspired to consider all the wondrous works of God in your own life and community and around the world.

An earlier version of this article appeared as an editorial in the 2026 Spring issue of Rejoice! published by MennoMedia and used with permission.

If you’re looking for a daily devotional for your church or small group, for personal use or as a gift, please consider Rejoice! It’s my privilege to serve as editor for the daily devotionals that are released quarterly, with a theme for each issue:

2026 Spring (March–May): God at Work

2026 Summer (June–August): Words, Words, Words

2026 Fall (September–November): Faith

2026-27 Winter (December–February): Living with God’s Power

For print and digital subscriptions, please see the publisher’s website.