If we want to be prosperous we have to work hard. God commanded us to work. He commended the woman in Proverbs for her hard work and He Himself exemplified work. In the creation account, He worked for six days and rested for one day. Work is also God’s way and provision through prosperity.
What about the blessedness of work? How does God bless work? God blesses work through….

I. GOD’S JUSTICE.
God’s justice requires that the worker be blessed. The Lord is the author of all natural laws and phenomena. He established certain formula that when do you something, that something will produce results. Isa doon ang work. When you work, you have a reward. That is a natural law. In Proverbs 24:12, it says, “Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?” The justice of God will see to it that we get rewarded. So if you want to be prosperous, work.
Then there’s another angle to the blessedness of work.

II. GOD’S FAVOR OR GOD’S PLEASURE.
A man in the Bible named Job was a very rich man. Satan knew that God’s favor was with Job when he said in Job 1:10, “Yes, Job fears God, but not without good reason! You have always protected him and his home and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Look how rich he is!
So there is such a thing as God’s favor or God’s pleasure.
There’s also such a thing as God’s withholding of a blessing. The Bible calls it curse. There are works that God despises or hates. Ecclesiastes 5:5-6 says, “It is better to say nothing than to promise something that you don’t follow through on. In such cases, your mouth is making you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.”
The context of this is that people make a promise or pledge to God but don’t fulfill it. We usually make a promise to God when we are in a desperate situation. (Lord, makapasar lang jud ko magsimba na jud ko pirme. Lord, mauyab lang nako na si _____ pwede na jud ko mabuang. Lord, maayo lang ko ihatag jud nako ang akong tibuok tithes, etc). But as soon as we recover from that desperate situation we immediately forget all the promise that we made and say, “My vow was a mistake.” What does the Word of God say? “That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.” God has the power to bless and He also has the power to destroy.
Favor is God’s prerogative. He alone decides who to bless. That’s why there are people who work just little but become prosperous, while there are also people who work so hard but do not prosper (farmers, ice cream/ice drop peddlers, laborers, cabinet peddlers, etc). Baka wala yung favor ni Lord. If God’s favor is not in our work, let us examine our tongue instead of questioning God.
If God’s favor is not with us, it has something to do with our tongue. Ecclesiastes 5:5-6 says, “It is better to say nothing than to promise something that you don’t follow through on…. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.”
Is there a way to override God’s destruction? Only when God puts a protective fence around us. Without God’s protection, we will be destroyed naturally, automatically. But God is so gracious; most of the time, in spite of who we are, He exempts us from the consequences of sin. But yes, the Lord can give favor, and the Lord can destroy one’s work just by withdrawing His protection.
We ask, “Why is he prosperous? Why am I poor?” Don’t blame God. Don’t examine other people’s lives. Examine your tongue. We are accountable for every word that we say. There is power in the spoken word. God spoke and everything came into existence.
Be careful with what you say, it might come back to you. Instead of cursing people, bless them instead. Say something nice or good about others. Para yun din ang bumalik sa inyo. Some people have the habit of complaining about how difficult life is. Some mothers love to talk about other mother’s daughter but comes back to their own daughter! Yung mga taong mahilig magsalita o mamintas ng ganito ganyan, iyon tuloy ang nangyayari sa kanila. So be careful with your words! Your words know your address.
God surely blesses godly work. Godly work is governed by several ethical standards.

1. Focused Work.
Godly work is concentrated. Hindi sabog-sabog. Kailangan may focus. Jesus says in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters.” When you run after two ducks, you will catch neither. Kailangan may concentration.

2. Steadfast Work.
Godly work has steadfastness. Hindi dahil nabugnot ka, iiwan mo na. Hindi dahil hindi mo magawa, titigil ka na. Hindi dahil pagod ka na, aayaw ka na. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain during WW11, was asked to give a commencement address. He was introduced, and he stood up and said firmly, “Never quit!” and he sat down. This was probably the shortest commencement address in history.
Psalm 104:23 says, “Then people go off to their work; they labor until the evening shadows fall again.”
Godly work is steadfast; you labor until evening.
3. Righteous Work.
Work should be governed by righteousness. Ito at pagtatrabaho na walang halong pandaraya o kasinungalingan. Walang pagsasamantala. (Chinese businessmen sold siopao na carton ang palaman.) Proverbs 10:16 says, “The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.” Kaya huwag kayong mainggit sa mga kumikita ng malaki dahil sa paggawa ng masama.
Asaph, a worship leader in the Old Testament complained, “Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong? All I get is trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” After considering the wealth, the life, the happiness of the wicked, Asaph became envious. But in the end he said, “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My heart may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”

4. Honest Work.
Proverbs 13:11 says, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.”

5. Industry.
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Kung puro satsat, puro salita, pero wala namang trabaho, it will bring only poverty. What is one great way to prosperity? Hard work.

Let’s glorify God through work. We worship through singing, we worship through dancing, we worship through giving – but people of God also worship through work. Work is one of the best ways to worship God.