The Keys to Hearing God Say “Well Done”
Share
In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the story of a man who was going on a journey. He entrusted his money to three of his servants. Two of them doubled what he had given them and one of them did nothing with his. To the two that doubled his money, they both received a commendation from their master as he told them, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Someone recently told me they always felt bad because they would go and share the gospel and if the person didn’t accept Christ they felt like a failure. I had to point them back to this verse. The truth is we cannot control the outcomes, we can only control the inputs. That’s why in the Bible God never told us to go out and get people saved. He said to go out and preach the gospel. We can’t control who gets saved – that is the work of the Holy Spirit to work in people’s hearts to draw them to Christ.
Let me be clear, this does not mean you don’t care about results, because everyone wants to be productive and see fruit from their work. What this means is that if you have done what God has asked you to do and done it faithfully, then you have completed your assignment. Regardless of the outcomes, there is a reward waiting for you.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Tutye
This leads me to the one question that you should ask yourself every day. Here it is.
Have I given God my best effort today?
Think about whatever you do. Whether it is in the home, in the community, on the job, in your school, in the church, or wherever it is, have you given God your best? As I said before, not having to worry about the results does not mean you don’t care about the results. Because you care, you should commit yourself to getting better at what you do and trying to improve your results. There is nothing wrong with trying to improve your results as long as you don’t sacrifice your obedience in the process. Compromised obedience is disobedience, which is sin, and there is no reward for that.
Each day at the beginning and at the end of the day the question that should be resonating in your heart is have you given God your best effort today? If you have, then you can sleep well. But if you haven’t, that’s what the new day is for. You can start all over and give God your very best, because after all that is what he wants. He wants your very best effort, and he will take care of the results. I leave you with this verse.
More from this author
Being Spiritually Gifted and Spiritually Mature Are Not the Same Thing
Why the Pew and the Pulpit Are Guilty of Idolatry
3 Proven Marks of a Healthy Church
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/track5
