Your Labor Is Not in Vain

 January 2, 2024

Tuesday

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NASB 2020) 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

No one makes a public decision in another worship service. The preacher may think that all of his hard work in putting the sermon together is in vain, but he would be wrong.

Not all spiritual decisions are public. Not all spiritual decisions need to be public. Working for the Lord means that you aim for the heart. The feet, hands, legs and mouth will follow later.

Not all spiritual decisions are immediate. Many times the Holy Spirit continues to work on the individual long after the preacher has stopped preaching. That is also true of anyone who shares the gospel with others. Some people volunteer readily when they are convicted of what they need to do. Others must surrender because they continue to fight what they need to do.

The work of the gospel takes time in many people. They hear the truth but it takes hearing it again and again for some. People working for the Lord need to see their work as adding a brick to the building rather than trying to build a building in a single day.

The person laboring for the Lord has been changed by the labor. This should always be true. The Holy Spirit worked in the laborer by drawing him or her close and convicting that the message shared is true. This is what makes the Christian firm and immovable.

So, be encouraged! That person you think has dismissed all that you have said to them may not have done so at all. The work you are doing to raise your children may seem to go nowhere but the Lord is the One who makes your work fruitful. The co-worker you struggle to show who Jesus is will be worked on by the Holy Spirit too. You are being changed by your work for the Lord.

None of our work for Him is in vain.