After taking a short break to cover the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit, I want to get back into our study on the Negatives in the Bible and see if we can finish it up. We don’t have far to go (though if I covered all of them, we’d be doing this study for months.) Let’s pick back up with what the Bible has to say about “no one.”

Have you ever been disappointed when things didn’t turn out the way you had planned? I have. And probably the most disappointing of all are the situations where I’ve done all the right things in all the right ways with all the right motives, and things still didn’t work out. It’s enough to send this little redhead running toward chocolate cake!

Isn’t it frustrating to sow the seeds and feel like we’re not reaping the harvest? We diet and exercise but don’t lose the weight. We read our Bible and pray daily but still slip carelessly into sin. We take a restful vacation but come back more tired and stressed. The pastor puts his heart and soul into his preaching yet the people seem unaffected by what he has to say. The missionary spends years on the field, hard at work in the service of the Lord, yet has only a handful of converts to show for his efforts. What’s up with that?  

The Bible teaches the principle of sowing and reaping. We know how it’s supposed to work, but sometimes it doesn’t seem to apply to our lives or our current situation. So, we begin to doubt. Maybe this sowing and reaping stuff only works for certain people or at certain times. Perhaps I’m not doing all I should do or I’m not doing it the right way. Maybe I’ve missed something along the way, and that’s why I do not see results.

More than likely, it’s none of those things. It’s just that God doesn’t operate according to our schedule. We plant seeds today and expect to see a harvest by tomorrow or next week, but growth takes time. God won’t be rushed. He has a plan, and He will fulfill it in His own good time. This makes little sense to us.  After all, wouldn’t God want to see souls saved today? Doesn’t He long for us to have the desires of our hearts? Surely, He wants the pastor to feel appreciated and the missionary to be effective, right?

I’ve probably said this a million times in my writing and a million times more in my own life when trying to comfort my confused heart—God’s ways aren’t our ways, and His thoughts aren’t our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). What makes sense to Him often seems downright ridiculous to us because we can’t see the whole picture. And that can be discouraging. It’s disheartening when it seems our efforts aren’t paying off. Trust me, I know!

But God knows too, and He’s provided a promise for times like these—no one who acts in His name will be unrewarded. No one! If we have sowed in the name of the Lord, we will reap the rewards. If we have sacrificed our time or talents for Him, He’ll make sure we lack nothing. He’s keeping a record. He’s paying attention. He knows what seeds we are sowing, and He already has a plan on how He will reward those efforts. Check out these verses:

“And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. ”

“Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. ”

“ Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. ”

Serving God will cost us something. It is a sacrifice. There’s no doubt about it. But it also reaps rewards beyond our comprehension. Now, let me add here, we should never serve God merely for compensation but rather out of our love for Him. Service is a natural outflow of love. But even so, it can become wearying when those efforts seem for naught. Note that sentence carefully—the efforts seem like they’re not making a difference. We must be on guard for how things seem or feel because that is seldom a good indicator of how things truly are. That’s why it’s so important to cling to the truth. God made it clear that when we work in His name and for His kingdom that our work will not be in vain. Let’s take Him at His word and rejoice in the waiting time!

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