Your Labor is Not in Vain

Whenever a Christian is busy serving God, it's very easy to convince yourself that what you are doing really isn't making any difference. When you start thinking this way, you need to remind yourself of the promise found in 1 Corinthians 15:58.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

Like many promises found in the Bible, there is a condition. Your labour will not be in vain "in the Lord." If you are trying to serve God in the power of your flesh, you will not make an eternal difference. However, if you serve with God's power and blessing on your life, you can claim the promise of this verse. You may not see the results you wanted or thought you might see, but God promises your labour will not be in vain. In other words, your labour will not be empty or pointless. There will be fruit. God promises.

Years ago, a young man named Shawn was attending Bible college. He was coming home for one weekend and his pastor asked him to preach for the Sunday morning service. Shawn immediately got excited about the opportunity. You see, he had many unsaved relatives living in and around his hometown where the church was. He worked and prayed. God blessed his efforts tremendously. Many family members were in attendance that Sunday morning including his parents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. All of them were unsaved.

Shawn stood and preached a powerful Gospel message from John 3. The title of the message was, "Ye Must Be Born Again." The desire of his heart was obvious. He desperately wanted his family members to get saved. When the sermon was over and the invitation was given, not a single one of his relatives responded to the message of Christ. Every one of them walked out of church that day as lost as when they came in. Understandably, Shawn left the service very discouraged.

What Shawn didn't know was that there was a 16 year old boy sitting on the front row in church that morning. That was the first time that boy had ever attended a Bible preaching church and it was the first time he ever heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the invitation was given that morning, that 16 year old boy left his chair to pray at the steps to the platform along with many others. The boy didn't even really know what he was praying. He just knew he needed what that young preacher was just talking about! A deacon from the church came and put his arm around the young man and asked him if he could pray with him. They went back to the pastor's office and a few minutes later, the boy received Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

The young man went on to get involved with the youth group. A few months later, God called the boy to preach. When he was 19, he went off to Bible college himself to train for the ministry. After graduation, God moved him to pastor a church in the Bay Area of California for 3 years. Recently, God moved that man and his family to Sherwood, OR to serve in a local church. Currently, that man is typing this blog post. That 16 year old boy was me!

Shawn preached that message from John 3 on June 9th, 1996 at Florence Baptist Church in Florence, MT. Even though he didn't see the results he wanted to see from his efforts, his labour was not in vain. God kept His promise. I'm eternally grateful for the fact that Shawn was faithful to preach God's Word. I'm glad he laboured.

Even when you don't see fruit for your labour, remember the promise of God. Your labour is not in vain in the Lord.