Cigarette boxes come with warnings. So do mattresses. In the spirit of fair warning, I offer the following disclaimer. Micromanagers and control freaks beware: what I’m about to say may disconcert you.
Not everything will turn out the way you want it to.
There are times you must trust God for the outcome. This doesn’t mean we sit on our thumbs and wait for God to deliver the goods.
God has asked us to be stewards of the gifts, talents, and treasures he has given us. The Great Commission challenges us to be seed-casters, sowing the seeds of the Gospel to whomever will listen. The Great Commandment calls us to invest in the lives of people.
We are to make the most of every opportunity.
Whatever we do, we are to work at it with all of our heart.
But, in the end, God provides the increase. Our job is to be faithful in administering the time and talents God has given us. God handles the outcome:
“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:5-7).
As humans, we’d like to know the outcome in advance. We’d like to know that all of our investments will succeed. Along with that, we’d prefer to provide our own definition of success.
But it doesn’t work that way. We are ultimately not in charge (sorry, I should have put a warning label in front of that).
Keep serving, keep sowing. Keep doing good. And trust God for the outcome.
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“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).