“Wrung from the troubled spirit,

In hard hours of weakness, solitude, and times of pain,

Truth springs like harvest from the well-plowed field,

And our soul feels it has not wept in vain.”

 STREAMS IN THE DESERT, 1997

A little more than a month ago I was in England, where I spent three weeks seeing nearly every part of the country. The countryside and quaint villages are beautiful, but sadly, everywhere I looked I saw few signs of a thriving spiritual climate. Like a lot of Europeans today, the British seem to be cynical, even hostile, when God or church are mentioned. Of course there are exceptions, but many seem to be content to live as just a higher animal in the cosmos, and are incredulous that anyone of any education would still believe in a Creator God. As one man in a pub said, as we chatted, “I’m quite happy to think that the world is just randomly ordered.” This he said with a smile. The implication was, “subject closed.”

The effects of this godless attitude can be seen everywhere. Even small villages there aren’t immune from mid-day displays of public drunkenness, foul language (even from children), explicit sexual behavior, and blatant disrespect towards anyone who happens to walk by. When Tony tried to caution two middle-school boys who were sexually harassing female classmates at a bus stop as we passed by, a young mother pushing a baby in a carriage (who didn’t appear to be related to the boys) screamed at Tony to leave them alone.

In this kind of environment, it’s tough to share your faith and stand for Jesus. Christians are regularly scorned, ridiculed, and often blamed for society’s ills. They experience tremendous disappointment as they see their efforts to reach out in love to the people around them yield so little. Discouragement can be a daily struggle. Many days, they wonder if they’re making any impact at all on the culture around them.

The prophet Isaiah understood this feeling. He wrote, “He said to me, ‘You are my servant … and you will bring me glory.’ I replied, ‘But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward’” (Isaiah 49:3-4, TLB).

Whether we live in Europe, North America, or some other part of the world, Christians sometimes wonder if their testimony makes any difference at all. When the response to our attempts to reach out is so negative, we struggle with doubts, not about the Gospel message, but about ourselves:  Is it me? Am I not as dedicated as I need to be? Am I doing something wrong … or not doing something right? Why is God not answering my prayers? Is it worth it, living outside my comfort zone, or am I wasting my time?

The Old Testament prophets had it much worse, yet they continued to obey what God had given them to do. In some cases, the results they saw were zilch, nada, zero. But Isaiah had it right. He gave the results and the reward for his service into the hand of God, trusting that He would do what is right and good in the end. His life could not be a waste – he belonged to the one True and Living God. Isaiah chose to trust that He knew best how to grow His kingdom and how to accomplish His good and perfect will in the earth.

As we walk out our Christian faith, our main focus must be on hearing from the Lord and then doing what He asks us to do. We may see tremendous results from our obedience, and we may not. Regardless, we can have the same confidence that Isaiah had in God, who said: “At just the right time, I will respond to you” (Isaiah 49:8).

As we pray and seek His face, He can show us if there are practical things we can do to improve the response to our message. Sometimes we can serve more effectively by making some changes. I remember when Tony, who’d been working in Italy for many years, received a vital insight from the Lord concerning the work there. In a dream he saw vineyards with unusually large grapes hanging from the vines, suggesting there was a harvest available that was well worth the effort. But in the dream, the grapes were out of reach, which suggested that he needed to find another way to get to them. The verse from Scripture that stood out to him was in John 21 – Jesus asked His disciples if they had caught anything after fishing all night. When they said no, He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some” (v. 6). And over time there has been a noticeable difference in the work of the church in one area of Italy in response to a new approach given by the Lord.

But at other times, there’s no need to change what we’re doing. We’ve just been asked to do something for the Kingdom that has no quick or visible results. Perhaps we’re preparing the field for someone else to come in later and take a great harvest. In John 4 Jesus mentions to His disciples, “Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor” (v. 38). In another place, Paul writes “I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

Sometimes we get so caught up in our little contribution to the Kingdom that we miss the bigger picture. What’s important is that God’s will is done, on earth as it is in heaven. We may be involved in the sowing of the seed, the cultivating of it, weed control, or the harvest of the crop. Wherever we may have been asked to serve in this process, we are a part of something much larger than ourselves.

The important point for us to remember in the midst of our discouragement and doubts is that God’s kingdom will prevail, no matter what. Whatever we do for Him is not in vain, because He will have the final victory. Sure, we may experience the pain of discouragement, doubt, and weariness in trying to be obedient to God’s calling, but we can take heart remembering that our Savior knew discouragement in His calling too. Though there was no doubt about His success or the effectiveness of His life, He still battled the temptations of the enemy, the opposition of men, a lack of support among His closest disciples when He needed it most, and betrayal from one who had walked with Him for three years. His years of public ministry were not easy or painless.

Isaiah writes of Jesus: “The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Therefore I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will.” Instead of backing down in the face of opposition, Jesus persevered, knowing God’s promise: “I know that I will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:5-7).

Jesus’ obedience to endure the cross was rewarded, and ours will be too. Sometimes we need the reminder that we have not yet resisted to the point of shedding our blood, as it says in Hebrews 12. By looking to Him for encouragement and strength, we can “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (v. 1).

It’s easy to give ourselves to the work of the Gospel when we are seeing good response to our efforts. It’s much harder to labor on when all seems futile and bleak. These are the times when the children of God must hold each other up in prayer and soldier on. Our King is coming, and one day we will see the results of our obedient service.

Whether we are in a field of rich response or hard-hearted rebellion towards God, we matter … to God, to other believers, and to the lost world around us. Who we are and what we do affects eternity! So I want to remind you (and myself) not to lose heart if we find ourselves in the midst of discouraging circumstances. We may have to wait for it, but our reward is sure. He sees and knows what we have given because we love Him, and He will honor that cup of cold water given in His name.

For Isaiah and the other prophets, the only “audience” that mattered was God himself, the One who had called them to the task at hand. For Jesus, His only concern was fulfilling what He’d been sent to do by the Father.  What about us? Who are we serving, and what are our motives? As we “consider him [Jesus] who endured such opposition from sinful men,” we can find the wisdom and strength we need to “not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3).  _____________________________________________________________