I was talking to a pastor friend the other day and he shared a good insight with me. He said, “Do you ever notice how we tend to be selective and base God’s approval on our perceived outcome of success in a given situation?”
I said, “What do you mean?”
He said, “Consider the chapter of Hebrews 11. It is called the ‘Hall of Faith’, a record of those who have been especially faithful to God. Check this part out…"
(Hebrews 11:33-38) "By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.”
He continued with his point saying, “Do you notice how only some of the faithful had positive outcomes as a result of their faithfulness? Many others were made fun of, whipped, stoned, sawed in half, lonely, stabbed, homeless, and on the run… but most of us are still quick to judge based on whether we are experiencing pleasure or a good outcome by our standards.”
I told him that this was a good insight, and that it is easy to judge God’s approval based on perceived success outcomes and not on Biblical faithfulness.
Then I thought I would test his pastoral brilliance a bit more and said, “But how do we honestly know we are being faithful to what God wants us to do in a given situation? I mean, even if we’re sure we are not doing anything unbiblical, we still might be unsure that we are doing the right thing at the time.”
He said, “God is a loving Father who watches over His children. If we seek Him, He will show us. Even if we get a little off track, He will gently steer us back on track, just like we would for our own children. He is lovingly present and active.”
I appreciated this conversation and thought it might encourage you and be a good reminder. Sometimes faithfulness to God doesn’t lead to the result we would prefer. But if we seek God’s will, and trust that He surely is with us to guide us and love us, we can learn to find joy, peace, and assurance in the act of faithfulness.