His Reward Is In His Hand

January 3

At times we may feel like we’re on a treadmill—forever moving but going nowhere. At times it seems we accomplish nothing—in spite of our best effort. We labor diligently at our job, perform every task to the best of our ability yet find we are overlooked at times of recognition and promotion.

Romantic relationships can dissolve in misunderstanding and distrust. The sense of betrayal that accompanies infidelity in the bond of matrimony can be completely devastating. If we have resolved to “forsake all others and cling only to one” according to Genesis 2:24, we are undone when the one to whom we have pledged ourselves proves to be unfaithful.

We invest our heart in rearing our children but find a ‘generation gap’ has indeed opened between us and our offspring. The words we say to them seem to be misunderstood at best and are sometimes totally tuned out. They don’t hear what we say and they don’t understand our heart’s yearning to bless them with our wisdom and our counsel.

Fast friendships elude us. We extend ourselves to others but there seems to be no reciprocation. We feel afloat in a wide expanse of relational sea and we feel alone. At the times when we perceive ourselves to be lost to all human contact and temporal success, may we remind ourselves that we have One who sees and recognizes our heart.

Jesus knows our labor and He honors all that we endeavor to do for His glory. While mere men may use us to gratify themselves and abandon us when we’ve served their selfish purposes, we may know with certainty that Jesus “will never fail or forsake us,” Hebrews 13:5. We may know that as we walk with Him and share our knowledge of Him with others, it will be His good pleasure to ultimately, “give us the Kingdom,” Luke 12:32. He does not want us to fear life’s circumstances or people’s inconsistencies. He wants us to trust fully in the Father’s good promise.

Ecclesiastes is 3:13 says, “Everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil. This is the gift of God.” It the Lord’s will that we achieve a sense of accomplishment and its accompanying satisfaction for our effort. If it appears no one else sees or cares, may we take joy in the knowledge that the ultimate Judge of all men’s hearts and labors has perfect insight and "His reward is in His hand," Isaiah 40:10, Revelation 22:12. Nothing we do for Jesus is without purpose. Nothing we do for Jesus is without its eternal reward.