Whatever You Do, Do It for the Lord
By M.T. Clark — P-2072 | 09/18/2026 – Today’s Audio Podcast
Today’s Message on YouTube:
Today’s photo of a rocky breakwater in the foreground of a calm harbor reflecting a peach-and-orange sunset, under a bright blue sky streaked with wispy clouds, comes to us from yours truly, as I captured this beautiful evening light show at Cahill Pier in Oswego, NY, on June 29, 2025.
Well, it’s Friday, thank God, and I share this photo of a peaceful sunset over Lake Ontario to remind us that some of the sweetest gifts the Lord gives us are the people He puts on the path with us as we walk with Him.
TammyLyn and I got to take a short weekend away in Oswego last year thanks to the graciousness of my friend Bernie G, a fellow volunteer with Freedom in Christ Ministries, who hosted us at his home in downtown Oswego and saved us the cost of a hotel room. That is another one of the sweet surprises of following the Lord. He puts real people on the path with us, and those friendships turn into a place to stay, a weekend away, and a sunset like this one that we would have missed if the Lord hadn’t opened the door in the first place. So, walk with the Lord into your weekend, and let Him surprise you with the good things He has already placed on your path.
Speaking of the life that the Lord wants us to live with Him,
Our series, “Rooted in Him,” continues today with Paul’s instruction to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Whatever You Do, Do It for the Lord
The Apostle Paul closes his instruction on the new life in Christ with a single sentence that covers all the moments of our days in Colossians 3:17 (NKJV), which tells us: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Paul’s instruction takes away the pressure to perform in one sense by what he doesn’t say here but gives us an all-encompassing sense of purpose with what he does say. Paul doesn’t say to do the “big” things for the Lord, so we don’t have to feel the pressure of trying to do some colossal deed for God’s glory. Instead, Paul tells us to bring all the aspects of our lives into our faith walk by saying, “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Our ordinary words and deeds both matter, and Paul is inviting us to do them all as an act of worship.
Let’s start with the reach of that phrase, “whatever you do”. Paul doesn’t divide our lives into spiritual and secular categories. He puts all the activities of our day within this instruction. The conversation at the coffee counter, the email at the desk, the phone call to a family member, the way we drive on the highway, and the things we do when nobody is watching, all of it is included. Nothing we say or do is too small or too ordinary to be left out of our walk with the Lord.
And what does Paul tell us to do with our everyday words and deeds? He tells us to do them “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” That is a phrase we have heard so often that we can forget what it means. To do something in someone’s name is to do it under their authority and as their representative. When we do our ordinary words and deeds in the name of the Lord Jesus, we are doing them as people who belong to Him, in a way that reflects who He is, and for the honor of His name.
This instruction changes our ordinary lives into something greater, something more meaningful, and purposeful – something holy. When the small task we are doing is being done in the name of Jesus, it stops being small. It becomes an offering. The dishes get done as unto the Lord. The report gets written as unto the Lord. The kind word gets spoken as unto the Lord. Paul isn’t asking us to do more things. He is asking us to bring the Lord into the things we are already doing.
Then Paul turns to the disposition that ties it all together. He says to do it “giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” When we know the Lord and appreciate our salvation, we in turn will appreciate the blessings of our ordinary lives and do them with reverence and gratitude. Gratitude runs through this passage. As we have said previously, peace and thanksgiving travel together. The word and thanksgiving travel together. And now our ordinary work and thanksgiving travel together too. A grateful heart makes even the routine parts of the day feel like a gift.
Notice also that Paul says that our thanks go “to God the Father through Him.” Our thanks go to the Father through Jesus. That is a beautiful reminder that we never come to the Father on our own merit. We come to the Father through Jesus, and He is the only reason our thanks are received. Every ordinary offering we make is received because of Him.
I didn’t understand this for a long stretch of my walk with the Lord. Early on, I treated the “big” things I did for the Lord as though they counted for more than the small ones, and I sort of kept score in my head based on the size of the moment. I thought that service to the church or things done under the guise of ministry counted for more, but now I see that every word and deed we do matters. What began to change my “holy performance-based acceptance” worldview was learning that the Lord actually meets us in the ordinary things too. God meets us in ordinary things like doing the dishes, driving to work, or taking care of our families. God meets us in the day-in-day-out faithfulness of showing up for the tasks of our ordinary lives. When I started doing my ordinary work in the name of the Lord Jesus and giving thanks for the chance to do it, the ordinary stopped feeling ordinary. It felt like walking with Him.
We can answer Paul’s invitation to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus by dedicating each new day to the Lord and doing the next small thing in front of us as unto Him.
So, hand your ordinary work over to the Lord, give thanks along the way for what He has already done, and walk out today in your relationship with the Lord as a person whose whole life is worship in His name.
Every step we take toward the Lord is a step in the right direction. So, keep on walking and talking with God.
— M.T.
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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
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