“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
This verse has always brought me encouragement when I could not see results from laboring in the faith throughout my life. God promises it’s not in vain when done for Him and yet, if we’re honest, sometimes it’s hard to hold tight to that when that person we’ve been sharing with still doesn’t come to know the Lord, or when our hard work seems to be ignored or completely lost by those around us.
I was faced with a similar situation recently. When I was in college, I went on a mission trip to another country. The purpose of the trip was to lay the groundwork for a church plant in an area that was dark and in desperate need of the Light. We prayer walked and passed out information on the church. We met with the community and did outreach. We worked hard to plant seeds we hoped one day would grow into this church. That was almost eight years ago. I found out recently that this church had fizzled out and never really got off the ground. I was discouraged by this news. I thought about, not only the people who had went on this trip and worked hard for a week, but also about the people who had invested time and money in this church and the pastor and family who had planned to lead that church.
Was it all a big waste? As I prayed through this, God reminded me of 1 Corinthians 15:58. He also reminded me of another church I had worked with in a similar situation. A year after this first mission trip, I was back in the same country, in a different city, working on laying the groundwork for another possible church plant. I was part of a team that spent an entire six weeks praying, building relationships, and doing outreach in this community. Our goal was to see if God was leading to start a new church in this community. The summer culminated with a huge block party that had a turnout far beyond anything we had hoped or dreamed…we even had to rush to the store to buy more food! We were all so excited and believed that this could be the next place God was leading to start a church. However, God led us away from that community. I often wondered if that whole summer had been a waste. But God had a different plan. Six years later, He resurrected the plans for that church to be started. He drew us back to that community. And we started praying and doing outreach again. We had a great response from the community and began praying God would raise up a pastor to lead a church plant there. A short time later, through a divine appointment only God could orchestrate, a pastor was provided. The details and groundwork a certainly still being laid, but God seems to be providing to plant the church we began laying the groundwork for six years ago!
God taught me some very valuable lessons through this second event. I realized there are no expiration dates on our prayers. The prayers we prayed six years ago are now being answered and will continue to be as He moves in this community. I was also reminded of the fact that God’s ways are not ours, and His timing is not ours. I have no idea why there was a six year period when He moved us out of that community. But, I know He can be trusted, and He is always working, whether I am present and can see it or not. And lastly, He showed me that absolutely NO labor for Him is in vain. I may never see the fruits of the labor or it may take years to be evident, but He is faithful.
So, as I think back on the first story I shared and wonder if it was all for not, God reminds me nothing done for Him is useless. While I may never know the fruits of our labor in that first city, I can trust they are there.
What about you, are you faithfully doing all God has called you to do and then trusting the outcome to Him? Do you get easily discouraged when you can’t see results or do you trust Him whether you can see the fruits of your labor or not? Do you believe and rest in the fact that His ways are higher and better than yours and His timing is perfect?
We can wait in anticipation, knowing that He is still working and there may well be something visible that comes from our work. But if not, we can also know He is faithful, and His promises are true. He will always use our work for Him. Always.
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