10 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.
—The words from Hebrews 6:10
“Why should I continue to go out of my way doing kind deeds for others? Nobody recognizes the sacrifice involved on my part. They just take what I do for granted!” declares one very frustrated child of God.
Ever feel that way? Or, how about this?
“Week after week, I go to choir practice and show up on Sunday morning to sing. Why I haven’t missed a rehearsal or service in over five years. That’s like 520 times I’ve arrived on time and ready to serve. I doubt if anyone would even miss me if I was gone.”
Or, perhaps you feel like this person:
“I guess I’m foolish to continue giving money the way I do. Because the business has done well, others ask for help as though I owed it to them. Why if I added up all I’ve given as a Christian during my life time, the total would stagger people. No, on second thought, it probably wouldn’t mean a thing to anybody, except me!”
Does this heart-cry resonate with you?
“Some of the best years of my life I gave to those people, but now that I’m older, they act as though I never existed. When I was younger I think we respected age more than they do now-a-days. I guess I feel as though the contribution I made in my time should entitle me to at least a sense of dignity during these, my closing years.”
Or, if you’ve ever volunteered in Christian Ed., maybe you will identify with this person’s lament:“Because I do a good job teaching Sunday School, people just assume it comes easy for me. I wonder if they realize how many nights I’ve stayed up making sure my words would be clearly understood the next morning, or the numerous times my family has not gone somewhere on Saturdays to protect my lesson preparation, or the hours I’ve invested in prayer? But lately, I have a feeling the class is getting a lot more from me than I am from them, and their response makes me wonder if it’s really worth all the effort I put into it!”
Do you identify at all with the kind of things these dear folks are saying? Having invested a great deal in ministry of one kind or another, you’re now wondering if anyone even notices what you do.
Way back in October of 1978, when I lived in a suburb of Hartford, Connecticut, I attended a banquet sponsored by the local Christian radio station. The speaker for that event was Rev. Dr. David R. Mains, the host of a daily radio broadcast, The Chapel of the Air. That evening, Dr. Mains preached a sermon based on the passage of Scripture you will find at the beginning of this blog post. He gave example after example from Scripture of occasions when God reminded His people that He remained fully aware of all they did on His behalf.
I came away from that night greatly encouraged. I also came away from that night with the beginnings of a new friendship that, I am grateful to say, has continued over these intervening 33 years.
During his sermon, Dr. Mains told this story, which mirrored my own experience:
“Twice now I’ve read through J.R.R. Tolkien’s massive three-volume set, The Lord of the Rings. And, each time I’ve made it all right through the thousand-plus pages of excitement and adventure as little Frodo Baggins and his company perform superhuman exploits while saving Middle Earth from the dark cloud of the evil Lord Sauron. But, when Frodo returns home to the simple shire from which he came, and none of his fellow Hobbits appreciate, or are even aware, of his heroics, I have to confess, both times tears came to my eyes as I tried to read.‘Frodo dropped quietly out of all the doings of the Shire, and Sam Gamgee was pained to notice how little honor his master had in his own country. Few people knew or wanted to know about his deeds and adventures,’ writes Tolkien.And, in those words, I’m afraid the author describes the experience of too many faithful, but unsung, Christian warriors.”
So, dear friend, if you can identify with those who feel that no one even notices what they do for Christ and His Kingdom, I encourage you to memorize Hebrews chapter 6, verse 10:
“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.”
By memorizing this verse, you will plant a seed in your mind and heart that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can bring to your awareness whenever you’re tempted to feel unappreciated.
If I re-state in my own words what the writer of Hebrews has penned, it comes out like this—“Be reminded that God is aware of all your efforts on His behalf.”
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God for loving us. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. Thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit to confirm, in the depths of our hearts, that You most certainly do remember every deed we have done for You.
We acknowledge with joy what You have said through Your prophet in Isaiah 45:14b:
“I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”Please be so evidentally with us each day, that we will strongly sense Your Presence. We pray, with grateful hearts, in the Precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
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