MONDAY: GOD SEES FAITHFUL SERVICE
KEY PASSAGE
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
DEVOTIONAL
When you are discouraged it is easy to feel that your work is forgotten. You may feel like no one notices the good things you do. You may even feel like God has forgotten. It is normal to feel discouraged at times, but we should never allow our feelings to discourage us from continuing faithfully in the work God has given us to do; and we shouldn’t allow our feelings to distort our view of God.
It is God’s nature to be just. He would be denying His nature if he forgot our work for Him. God is just, therefore He justly sees our faithful service. God sees us and remembers when we do what is right, when we act faithfully, and serve others in love.
The problem is, sometimes we do things in hopes we will be seen and applauded by other people. We all want to be seen, but who do you most want to be seen by? Do you want the approval of your peers, friends, colleagues, or family more than you want the approval of your Heavenly Father? Our longing to be seen sometimes muddies the water, making it difficult to see clearly.
We get off track when we rely on the attention and applause of other people, and the results are often discouraging. You can rely on the attention of God, who justly sees the work you do, faithfully for Him.
Don’t be discouraged. Remain faithful. Continue to work diligently for the Lord, and know that He sees you.
CHALLENGE
Maybe today is a fresh start.
Consider the value of chasing recognition from anyone other than Him.
Allow God to check the motives of your heart.
If you feel tension pulling towards recognition or applause, simply release it.
Find relief today in the grace of God who knows you and sees your love for Him when you serve.
TUESDAY: ETERNAL REWARD
KEY PASSAGE
“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.”
DEVOTIONAL
Notice how this Scripture starts with “therefore,” meaning we need context to what was said before this. After many chapters of instruction to the Church on many details– how to worship, teach, disagree, use spiritual gifts, marry, settle lawsuits, handle immorality, choose holidays, etc.-- the letter turns to a reminder of the gospel that holds all these new believers together:
“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you… that Christ died for our sins.” (v.2-3)
Then we are reminded why it matters that Jesus arose from the dead: the resurrection of Christ assigns immense value to everything we do on earth. What we sow here reaps eternal reward.
“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” (v.54)
Before we meet Jesus, we live by earthly intentions– what do I want, need, desire, dream of and long for? How do I get what I want and enjoy it now?
Once we meet Jesus, earthly intentions are clothed in eternal ones. We see life through a new lens, which is: death does not erase our impact. What we do and who we become lasts forever. And in Jesus, death leads to victory instead of destruction. The letter concludes with this:
“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.” (v.58)
CHALLENGE
So, brother or sister, are you standing firm or are you easily moved?
Are you fully focused on life with Jesus or are you distracted by fleeting earthly desires?
Do you act knowing what you do matters forever or are you acting on instant gratification?
Allow God to hold a mirror to your heart to help you see what he sees– the good and the bad (don’t worry, he can handle it). Write these things down, then hold them up like you are looking in a mirror.
Meditate on (repeat in your mind) this truth as you go about your day: “I matter to God because God matters to me. I matter today because today matters forever.” Notice how this repetition of thought forms the actions you take today.
WEDNESDAY: SERVING WITHOUT ANY EXPECTATION OF RETURN
KEY PASSAGE
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
DEVOTIONAL
Think of the phrase, “return the favor.” There is an idea in our culture of doing someone a favor in expectation of a return. The definition of “favor” is an “act of kindness beyond what is due or usual.” A favor is something beyond what is earned or deserved, yet we often think that it should be repaid. This points to a transactional tendency in our nature. Jesus points us to a different way of thinking.
In Luke 14:12-14 Jesus speaks to a prominent Pharisee who hosts a dinner to which only the most wealthy and respected inner-circle of people were invited. Imagine Jesus’ sorrow as he looked around the table and thought of all of the people who were not welcome there. Think of his sorrow as he considered the host’s motives for inviting his guests. Jesus tells the Pharisee to see things from an eternal perspective.
Sure, friends, family, rich neighbors, and those in the same social circle as you will feel obliged to repay you for your hospitality in this life. But if you show hospitality to those who have no means to pay you back and simply host people out of kindness, expecting nothing in return, you will be repaid with an eternal reward.
God showed us favor by sending His son to pay for our sins. There is no way to return the favor. He gave to us freely not because we were worthy, deserving, or in any position to do anything in return. As we learn to serve one another, we must keep a heavenly perspective. There is a great banquet to which everyone is invited: rich, poor, able-bodied, disabled, influential, forgotten. Everyone has a seat at the table. What would your life look like if you saw things this way?
CHALLENGE
Jesus tells us to serve people who don’t expect it, expecting nothing in return.
Make a list of people who you spend most of your time with. Who do you feel you owe something to? Who do you feel owes something to you?
Pray and ask God to help you see things like He does.
Ask Him for an opportunity to expand your circle and to bless someone you wouldn’t expect to repay you.
THURSDAY: FAITHFUL SERVICE IN SECRET
KEY PASSAGE
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven… your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
DEVOTIONAL
Here, Jesus warns us of our tendency to desire affirmation from people and from God. The religious leaders would often exchange their desire for God with a desire for approval of, status above, power over, and affection from people. And if we are honest, this is a universal tension among believers.
Every single human being possesses the fundamental need to be seen, known, and loved. We all need these three things to live a functional, joyful, relational, full life.
Life experience teaches you to meet the “seen, known, and loved” need with obedience, performance, achievement, loudness, cultural conformity, and applause. But in the Christian life, you must trust God to meet your “seen, known, and loved” need solely with himself.
Jesus asks to meet with you in the secret place and keep it just that– secret. He does this because he is after your heart. And your heart is instructed by your ego (your sense of self). And your ego is formed by the affirmation and rejection you experience. The secret place is where your worldly ego dies by allowing God to be your source of affirmation. Which means God defines your ego– your sense of self– and your identity! And it is only when you know who you are in Christ that you know how to live a life for him, which is a life serving God and others.
CHALLENGE
Have you been in the secret place lately? If not, take 10 minutes to be there.
What is God confronting you with in the secret place? Maybe he revealed negative thought patterns, limiting beliefs, or sinful behaviors. Remember, he brings this to mind because he is teaching you to see the identity he has for you, not to shame you.
Who does God bring to mind in the secret place? Maybe it’s someone you love, like your spouse, child, or best friend. Or maybe it’s someone you struggle to know how to love– a disgruntled co-worker, a needy neighbor, an offensive friend, an argumentative family member. Remember that a life spent with Jesus is a life spent serving others.
Whoever God brings to mind, take initiative to serve them today, knowing that God affirms your act of service even if this person never will.
FRIDAY: LIVING TO PLEASE GOD
KEY PASSAGE
“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
DEVOTIONAL
“We aim to please!” is a common phrase used in customer service. It is a way of saying “we’re happy to help and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to assure the customer is satisfied”. There is a goal in mind: to please the customer. It would be silly to think of God as a customer, but as Christians, we have a goal. We aim to please Him. Everything we do in this life should be aimed at pleasing the Father.
2 Corinthians 5:6 brings up the fact that we are still living in this world, that we are “at home in the body” and therefore, “away from the Lord.” We aren’t living in the presence of God yet, but in faith, we know that day is coming (vs.7-8). So what should we do while we are still here? We set for ourselves the goal of pleasing God, no matter where we are, “whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
The problem is it is so easy to spend our time pleasing someone else. While we are “here” it is so much easier to chase validation and approval from people who are also “here.” How much of what you do is to please other people? Is your goal to please people? We should be God-pleasers, not people-pleasers. God’s will is perfect. So, the good news is if we aim to please God, it will end up being what’s best for people as well.
We make it our goal to please Him because what we do in this life matters to God. Our actions extend beyond our life, into eternity with Him. We will always serve God. He will always be worthy of our service, even after our lives end, when we are in His presence forever.
CHALLENGE
Sometimes it takes time to readjust and make God your focus.
Take a few deep breaths.
Allow God to examine your heart.
Pray and ask Him if there are any goals, mindsets, or patterns that have aimed you away from Him.
Who are the people that you are regularly feeling pressure to please?
Bring these names to the Lord and ask Him to help you reframe the way you serve them.