This devotional, Restful Bible Verses for Labor Day will help you find inspiration during the daily grind of your nine to five. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and dig into the Word of God this Labor Day!
The first Monday of September in the United States is a federal holiday. Labor Day is the time we set aside to celebrate the American worker and the power of the free economy we enjoy because of the hard work we slog through every day.
But Labor Day weekend has become even more important to us in recent years. It’s our chance to spend time with family and friends before the end of Summer ushers in the hustle and bustle of the Fall season.
So, we set aside manual labor for fun in the sun and backyard barbeques one last time together.
And as we watch the lazy days of Summer slowly fade away, it’s easy to forget to make time for our daily Bible reading. However, God’s Word has a lot to say to us as our thoughts turn back to work.
So, soak up those last rays of sunshine, and read some Restful Bible Verses for Labor Day. Each one is sure to inspire you during this holiday of rest and beyond.
Inspirational Labor Day Bible Verses
God has a plan for you! And it includes the work that you’re currently doing.
Even if your work isn’t as inspirational as you would like, God has you in a career or position for a specific reason.
Let’s read these inspirational Labor Day Bible verses and find purpose in our work together.
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Proverbs 16:3
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 ESV
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 4:34
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Psalm 128:2 ESV
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 ESV
Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.
1 Thessalonians 3:10
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
Psalm 90:17 ESV
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:12-15
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
Psalm 35:8
Read the Bible Study: What is the Purpose of Life?
Positive Bible Verses about Work
Work isn’t usually something we talk about in a positive light. But as we’ll see in these Bible Verses about Work, labor is a gift from God.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.
Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.
They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Proverbs 10:4
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Acts 20:35
Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
Proverbs 12:11
Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.
Proverbs 22:29
You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.
Bible Verse about Laboring for the Lord
Working unto the Lord is a blessing that has a promise. When we labor for God, we receive an inheritance greater than anything we will ever have on earth.
Let’s read this Bible verse about laboring for the Lord and see the promise of our reward.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Read the Devotional: Your Labor is Not in Vain
Bible Verse about Labor in Vain
Of all the Bible verses we’ll read today, this is a favorite scripture of mine. Because sometimes no matter how hard we work it feels like we’re just spinning our wheels.
But this Bible Verse reminds us that our labor is not in vain when we work for the Lord!
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Favorite Bible Verses about Hard Work and Perseverance
Do you need more of a push to persevere during those times when hard work makes you feel blah? God’s Word will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.
These favorite Bible verses are the perfect pick me up after a hard day of work.
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23
For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 ESV
One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.
Proverbs 18:9
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.
Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
Psalm 127:1-5
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:15-20
If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11 NIV
Read the Bible Study: Courageous Bible Verses for Memorial Day
Bible Verse about Labor of Love
Faith can sometimes seem like labor, even though it is a labour of love.
So, like the Apostle Paul, let’s give thanks for the labor of love we have in faith and in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 ESV
Powerful Bible Verses about the Sabbath Day of Rest
The opposite of work is rest. And this special Labor Day holiday is all about rest.
But before the government thought it was a good idea, God had a plan for us to find rest.
Just like God created the heavens and earth and then rested on the seventh day, we are instructed in scripture to do the same.
So, let’s read these powerful scriptures about a day of rest.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates
Exodus 20:8-11 ESV
but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.
Exodus 20:10 NLT
The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.
Leviticus 25:6-7 ESV
Labor Day Scriptures from Genesis
We end our reading of Labor Day scriptures at the beginning. As we just read, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He labored for our benefit. And then he rested as He instructed us to do in the previous verses.
So let’s find inspiration for our work in these Labor Day scriptures from Genesis.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15 ESV
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Genesis 3:19 ESV
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Genesis 2:1-3 NIV
My prayer is that these Restful Bible Verses for Labor Day have inspired you in your work. And may God bless you and give you rest during this holiday.
Have a very Happy Labor Day!
Bible Verse Art from Master’s Hand Collection
Victory Black and White Bible Verse Art
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