The Daily Word

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On an attempt to conquer the ‘3 peaks’, Ingleborough, Whernside and Penygent, a party of us got trapped in cloud, and I mean cloud, not mist! It was so thick that we could not see more than a metre in front of us. As ill-equipped amateurs, we had to abandon the attempt and struggle down a steep valley on the side of Ingleborough to get back to the main road. Looking back on this miserable failure, it has brought to mind a verse in 2 Corinthians 5, “For we walk by faith, not by sight”.

When we are seeking to serve the Lord in a particular project or direction, we normally pray about the task we seek to perform. That is good, any form of service should be preceded by prayer and even during the service, we should pray. But then we are tempted to look for signs that God is blessing the work and instead of walking by faith, we start walking by sight!

We are impatient for God to move and respond to our prayers and we can become discouraged and perhaps give up the task. But if we have been moved by the Holy Spirit to undertake that task, project or work, then God WILL bless that work, but in His time, not ours!

This is perhaps a variation on how we have interpreted this verse previously, but it links with the parable Jesus told, which He introduced by the teaching that “we should continue to pray and not to faint/stop”. I want to encourage all of us involved in any form of service for the Lord, a) to trust Him always to bless His Word, and b) to continue to press on with the work, as the song puts it so clearly, ‘For it is Christ we’re serving’. It is not our motivation to be operating a results-based service for the Lord: Paul may plant, Apollos may water but God gives the increase!

Article written by Brian Preston, Elder @SFGH Church 

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