Not Ashamed: Standing Firm in Our Faith

The least good done by the weakest saint will be highly rewarded by our God. Here perhaps we remain obscure and unknown – but not to God. He sees all - He knows all – even the motivation behind our actions. Our service for Him will one day be highly regarded and rewarded. He misses nothing. Not even giving a cup of water to a young child. No one ever outgives the Lord of Hosts either. All service we do in His Name – even down to the most meager – will one day be richly rewarded – therefore, we are not to lose heart. We are not to become discouraged. The great apostle Paul writes in in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV): “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 

The Lord will one fine day reward the service of His saints – we can be certain of that – every slight, every hardship. This is why Paul again writes in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV): “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” God will never despise the smallest act done in His Name and for His glory. If the world does not take note - God always does - and He is the Great Judge of the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. Nothing passes His all-seeing eyes. He sees the sincerity of our hearts and rewards us accordingly – if not now, then. There will be everlasting rest, peace and joy for all our labor done for His glory. Further, in His great wisdom and love, He suits our burdens for our backs – fitting our afflictions to our strengths - enabling us to use our God given gifts for His glory.

Here we perhaps remain obscure and unknown – but we are fully known by Him Who loves us with an everlasting love. Our righteousness is not achieved by human efforts rather it is His power within these “jars of clay” for every believer in sweet Jesus. And the righteous are to live by their faith going forth in His power and His glory and for our good. He takes us from “strength to strength” until we are home with Him. This righteousness is unobtainable by human efforts. It is a righteousness consistent with God’s nature and only achievable through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit within the believer.