Meeting a Need

Meeting a Need
My brothers, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. James 1:2-3 Good News Bible

I have been facing some trials lately. I witnessed to around eight people; one is showing a mustard seed of promise. My wife and I have been doing some marriage counseling, one person out of the two is making an effort... sort of. So far this week, I was laughed at for being a Christian by three people and another person told me that "born again" people are nuts. Lastly, I had been praying with one woman for months, I thought I was helping her on her faith walk. She sort of shocked me by giving up on “the living” God in favor of following "Mother Earth". All of the effort and so little "reaping" have caused me to wonder if "living" for God is worth it? This wasn’t what I expected when I started sharing the good news of Christ...

One hard thing about following God is that you hardly ever have a sense of where you are, or how well you are doing. You have to listen for God and respond, listen and trust, listen and step into danger or pain. It is always a "faith walk" with God, never a site walk. As such, we cannot judge the outcome of our works. God uses our efforts, our tears and the sweat of our brows to lead those to Himself that are being saved. And the Lord also uses those same works to bring judgment on those who ignore or deride His word. We are not in control of the outcome of our service to God, The outcome and purpose of our work belongs to Him.

When I can't see the value of following God, I need to remember to trust Him. If I persevere in the faith even when I am laughed at or facing derision, then I have been blessed. If I unrelentingly hold to faith in the face of trials and pain, then I have gained endurance. And that may be the real blessing that God wants to give His children. God may not give us all that we want, but He ALWAYS gives what we need.