Tuesday Reading: Mark 4 3-9
Key Verse: Mark 4 8
8 And another fell on good ground and yielded fruit, going up and increasing. And one bore thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundredfold.
Devotion:
Persistence will always pay off! I have learned that from quite a few years of experience! We like to think that when we get things right that everything will just happen in the right time (according to us) and in the right place (again according to us) but that is not God’s design. Just because we are willing and following on from what God has asked of us does not mean that everything will go according to our plans. God is the one who does know the best time and place and the most appropriate plan for everything. Not just what we do but everything!
When we set out to do things we often carry this own private goal with us – the one that we don’t tell others about, the one we don’t admit to. I know it is hard to admit it because I did not want to go there either. But admitting that we are doing things because we want to see ourselves lifted up in some way is not the right plan! That, in the extreme, is what Satan did and look where that has left him! We do have to be willing to do God’s bidding, but we also have to be willing to allow Him to get all the credit for what we are going to do. It is not our task to find ways of giving ourselves the glory but to find ways of giving God the glory!
When we figure that one out and allow Him to work the way He has planned then we will see the fruits of our labour. It is not going to be telling the world about how we have achieved anything but rather to tell the world that we have an Awesome God! It is God that gets those little seeds to germinate and to grow up out of the dirt. It is God that allows those minute living things to grow up into plants that we recognise and can be joyful of. It is only because of Him that we are able to see the fruits of our labour; so let’s not get caught up in seeing how much we can do, nor seeing how many we can tell, but rather let’s do things so that we can see God’s Greatness glorified that what He can do after we plant a few seeds!
Points to Ponder:
Are you seeking glory?
Or are you glorifying God properly?