When it seems like your efforts are in vain, consider this
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...Yet I leave it all in the LORD'S hand; I will trust God for my reward.
Isaiah 49:4
Preface
One of the amazing things about the Bible is that you can read it over a lifetime and still regularly find gems that you never noticed before. This happened to me recently. The timing could not have been better.
To those who may feel like you are just spinning your wheels, this post is for you. Specifically, for all those who would say that your life's mission is to serve Jesus, but sometimes you can't fight the feeling that you are failing in that endeavor, this devotion has your name on it.
The Back and Forth
I've read through the Book of Isaiah several times before, but as I read it recently it gave me the same rapturous feeling I get when I stumble upon a patch of morel mushrooms in the woods. It's like finding gold.
Let me explain.
In Isaiah 49, there is a brief back-and-forth exchange between God and someone called the Servant. Let's listen in:
God: You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified. (v. 3)
Servant: I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity... (v. 4)
Based on the context, commentators identify the Servant in this passage as the Messiah of Israel, Jesus.
But if that is the case, why would God refer to Jesus as Israel? Why would he confuse the identities?
Maybe it is because the future of Israel was so connected to the ministry of Jesus, their identities were intertwined? It's kind of like if you say the Golden Arches, everyone will know that you are talking about McDonalds because they have become virtually synonymous. The Golden Arches are McDonalds.
In the same way, Jesus is Israel. There would be no Israel without him.
But wait. If the Servant is Jesus, then that means it was Jesus in the conversation expressing to the Father a sense of futility about his efforts? It was Jesus who felt like what he had done was in vain? All for naught?
Yes. Apparently, even Jesus felt that way.
Of course, he did. Since Jesus took on human flesh, he was subject to all the same struggles we face, including the occasional sense that we're just beating our heads against the wall.
An All-Too-Familiar Sentiment
This is a familiar conversation. In fact, I would dare say that most of us have had this same conversation with God. It goes something like this:
God: You are my servant and you will bring glory to me.
Us: Lord, I'm trying but nothing's happening. I don't feel like I'm making any difference in this world. It's pointless!
But this is where the final statement in the conversation comes into play. Going back to the back-and-forth between the Father and the Son, let's notice where it finally landed.
Servant: Yet I leave it all in the Lord's hand; I will trust God for my reward. (v. 4)
In other words, the way the Servant processes the nagging sense that his efforts are in vain is to commit all of it into the Father's hand and trust that there will be a reward in time.
Brilliant, huh?
And this is exactly what happened for Jesus, the Servant. He remained faithful all the way to the Cross. He never stopped caring. He never stopped loving. The Servant never stopped serving.
And it changed everything.
After getting his reward, Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, with the Name that is above every name.
The Takeaway
When it feels like your labor of love for Jesus is not very rewarding and not making any difference, do what he did. Place the whole thing back in God's hands and trust that he will one day clarify for eternity that IT ALL MATTERED.
Every single thing. Every word spoken, every deed done, every investment made in Jesus' name will one day be recognized and rewarded.
Then it will be clear that a life lived for Jesus isn't an exercise in futility. It's the most rewarding life possible.
Feel like you're spinning your wheels? Keep spinning! Though you may not be able to see it or feel it, this is all going somewhere.
It's a new day with God. Run with it.
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