As we invest the ability God has given us into the lives of others, we risk rejection, we risk ridicule, and we risk being misunderstood. Our faithful and wise investment will prove to be productive, however, and we will enter into continuous joy.
Dare to live the adventure of this abundant life which has been entrusted to us. In his book entitled Paths to Power, A.W. Tozer states: “God works as long as His people live daringly: He ceases when they no longer need His aid.”1 Dare to reach out to people.
There is danger in looking only at the rewards God wants us to receive. The danger is the frustration caused in those who want to achieve the results and reap the rewards of a diligent life of faith in the Word of God, but who refuse to live diligently.
There will always be those who seek the reward and not the Rewarder. But that does not change the fact that God gives rewards. And He does so because He knows how we are made. He is aware that hope and anticipation of a reward will motivate us to action.
David is a perfect example. He was a man after God’s own heart. Yet in First Samuel 17:24-25, we find that when David heard of the rich reward offered to the man who slew Goliath, (including marriage to the king’s daughter), he stood forth boldly and brought deliverance to Israel.
Certainly David’s actions were motivated primarily by his love for God and God’s people, and a hatred for the offender. But he was also aware of the reward he could expect to receive as a result of those actions.
The widow in First Kings 17:13-16 obeyed the prophet Elijah when he instructed her to take her last bit of meal and oil, and prepare him a little cake with it. She was told that if she would obey him, she would not run out of meal or oil. In the midst of famine, such a promise was no doubt a tremendous motivating factor.
“And Elijah said to her, ‘Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah” (NKJV).
Those who are diligent to do what God has said will receive the reward for their actions. The blessings of God will come on them and overtake them. However, the blessings of God do not come automatically. Determine to be one of those who aggressively take hold of God’s Word and obtain His promises.
1 Paths to Power by A. W. Tozer (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, Inc), p. 35.
