{"id":4946,"date":"2025-04-14T08:12:55","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T08:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalistsforchrist.org\/?p=4946"},"modified":"2025-04-14T10:55:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:55:25","slug":"grace-to-work-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalistsforchrist.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/14\/grace-to-work-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace to work hard"},"content":{"rendered":"
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But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all \u2014 yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Corinthians 15:10<\/p>\n

After winning three categories of the CNN African Journalist of the Year Award in the Health category and overall 1999, Environment (2001) and Sports (2002), Declan Okpalaeke, former staff of The Guardian and TELL Magazine was often asked about his winning formula.<\/p>\n

His response was not about his writing and investigative skills or ability to get the right topic to write on.<\/p>\n

“I think more than anything else, it’s the grace of God,” he said while speaking at a Journalists for Christ fellowship in Lagos in 2002.<\/p>\n

Rather than regarding himself as being a better journalist than others, he said, “I think I’m just blessed. I believe strongly that I have a finger of God in my life.”<\/p>\n

” I am not the most hard-working journalist in Nigeria. I am not even the most hard-working journalist in Africa, but I believe that the cutting edge that I have is my relationship with God,” Okpalaeke, Nieman Journalism Fellow, explained.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging that it takes hard work to win awards, the former Deputy Editor-in-chief of Insider Magazine noted that “even the grace to work hard comes from God.”<\/p>\n

As Apostle Paul said in Corinthians 15:10, while Okpalaeke might have put in a lot of effort into writing his award-winning reports than his colleagues, he doesn’t doubt that he is a beneficiary of God’s grace.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it takes God’s grace to work as hard as we sometimes want to work.<\/p>\n

There are times we just lose interest in doing the assignments we have to do and procrastinate until it’s late to meet our deadlines or do the quality job we are supposed to do.<\/p>\n

Some tasks can really be overwhelming and appear so daunting that we easily give up and forget that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Philippians 4:13.<\/p>\n

As we go about our media work, no matter how hard it may be, we should constantly ask God for grace to do our work as hard and well as we are required to excel.<\/p>\n

Even when hard work may seem like a “thorn in the flesh,” which Paul experienced and prayed that they should be removed, we should remember that God’s grace is sufficient for us. 2 Corinthians 12:9.<\/p>\n

Reflection:<\/p>\n

Are you worried about how much hard work is expected of you to excel in your assignments? What do you do when you have deadlines to meet and you are experiencing writer’s block?<\/p>\n

Prayer:<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, as I go about my work today, let me know that with You, nothing is too difficult to do. Give me the grace, willingness, knowledge, and understanding<\/p>\n

in whatever task I have to do per-time.<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n

The Word, April 14, 2025<\/p>\n

(Publication of Journalists for Christ International Outreach)<\/p>\n

You can reach us on WhatsApp: 08050498530<\/p>\n

Photo: 2017<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all \u2014 yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Corinthians 15:10 After winning three categories of the CNN African Journalist…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[300,16,82],"class_list":["post-4946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight","tag-declan-okpalaike","tag-journalists","tag-work"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t