Sometimes I feel like my efforts to serve the Lord are
not accomplishing much. I know in my
mind this is not true because I believe God’s promises. But my heart does not always feel the same
thing that my mind knows. How about you?
The purpose of this post is to help you (and me!) get
God’s promise in 1 Corinthians 15:58 worked deep down into our hearts and
minds:
1 Corinthians 15:58 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.
So let’s think about this promise and study it. As you think deeply on God’s promise, I pray
that His Holy Spirit will apply it to your emotions as well as your intellect.
So let’s break it down, mull it over, internalize it, and own it.
“your
labor”
The Greek word translated “labor” is kopos. It emphasizes the
type of work which is difficult and exhausting.
Notice that God’s promise does not restrict this “labor” to a specific
area. Any work which is sometimes hard,
difficult, or stressful counts. Being a
mother of young children is hard work.
Working to provide for your family is often difficult and tiring. Serving in any of a hundred different roles
in your local church in addition to your “day job” involves sacrifice. In this world, work is often hard and
difficult. God promises that your hard work
is not in vain!
“in
the Lord”
God’s promise applies to many kinds of work, but it does
not apply to all work. The work must be
“in the Lord”. What does that mean? It means that whatever you are doing must be
done in a right relationship with Jesus.
It is hard work which is done for Jesus.
It means that we are truly trying to do what He wants us to do and to do
it the way He wants us to. Lots of people work very hard to do things which God
cares nothing about. Their work often is
rewarded by the world in temporary ways, but such work is truly “in vain” from
an eternal perspective.
The phrase “in the Lord” also reminds us that this
promise is applied with grace. If our
motives, actions, and efforts had to be perfect to be fruitful we would have no
hope. But because Christ is working in
and through us, our admittedly weak and faltering efforts actually are used by
God for His good and glorious purposes.
“is
not in vain”
The promise is that our labor “is not in vain”. This means that all your hard work for Jesus
counts. None of it is wasted. Based on
God’s Word, we know this is true. But
then why do we often feel like it is not true?
Perhaps the biggest reason we often doubt God’s promise
(at least in our emotions) is that we don’t see visible results. At least we
don’t see the type of visible results or the amount of visible results we are
looking for.
It’s not wrong to want to see large numbers of people
coming to Christ, and to see dynamic, radical, glorious transformation in the
life of each believer. Occasionally, we do see those things, or at least some
believers get to. But often we work hard
for long periods of time without seeing much evidence of the fruit we long
for. Why is this? Here are some possible reasons:
1. God’s work is
long term. It takes time for a tree to bear fruit. Our “fast food”, instant everything lifestyle
trains us to expect instant results. But
God is often working on a timetable of years and even generations. In fact,
much of the fruit of our work will not be visible until we see the results in
Heaven. Don’t give up, the harvest is coming (see Galatians 6:9)!
2. God’s work is
deep. God works deep inside us and deep
inside other people. God uses us in this
work, but we can’t directly see the changes in people’s hearts and minds which
God sees.
3. God’s work is
high. God is accomplishing things in the
spiritual and heavenly realms that we cannot fathom.
4. God’s work
calls us to experience the cross before we experience glory. We are called to follow Jesus. This means suffering in this world and glory
in the age to come.
God is not using our work in Christ to accomplish less
than we want. Through us, He is
accomplishing far more than we can imagine (see Ephesians 3:20).
We often feel that our efforts are weak and feeble. And so they are. But God’s mighty power is at work when we are
weak (see 2 Corinthians 12:10)!
Stand
Firm
Believe God’s promises.
Don’t give in to the temptation to give up. Don’t trade God’s eternal rewards for the
temporary pleasures offered by the world.
Give
Yourself Fully to the Work of the Lord
Keep going for it. Be all in. Don’t hold back in serving Jesus. All your hard work, all your frustrations and
setbacks, all your tiring labor, is being used by God for His good
purposes. Give all you have to
Jesus. You’ll be glad you did!
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .
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