I was around several teenagers recently when one of their t-shirts caught my attention. On the back, in bright orange letters, it stated, “Work will win when wishing won’t.”

I thought about that statement the rest of the day and still can’t seem to shake it.

There is a big difference between working and wishing. We tend to try to wish our problems away.

We wish we had better marriages. We wish we spent more time with our children. We wish we read the Bible more. We wish we were different. We wish our lives were better.

We wish a lot and why not?

Wishing is easy. It doesn’t constitute any commitment, effort, or time. We could wish all day for this or that but in order for wishing to be productive, it should always be followed by work.

There are several examples in the Bible of people who didn’t waste time wishing. Noah didn’t wish an ark into existence. David didn’t wish for Goliath to fall. Moses didn’t wish his people were free from Egypt. Peter didn’t wish he could walk on water. God didn’t wish there was a way we could be saved.

Stop wishing for that person you love to obey the gospel and pick up the phone. Quit complaining about your marriage and make it right. Open that Bible, offer that apology, or take that first step. We need to stop wishing, start praying, and get to work.

Great things will happen when God’s people stop wishing and start working.

–Paula Harrington