“For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.” Hebrews 6:10 NLT
As someone whose love language is acts of service, this verse comforts me every time I read it. It makes me know that when I serve others as a show of love, it’s not forgotten, even when they don’t acknowledge it.
As a single lady, fresh out of school, my wife was the personal assistant to her youth pastor. For years, her youth pastor didn’t acknowledge her work and wondered why she was even trying in the first place. But my wife served anyway, based on God’s instruction to her.
Now, many years later, their bond is inseparable. They talk like sisters, and while my wife no longer serves under her, she has been a blessing to my wife in so many ways.
And this makes me wonder…
If my wife had refused to continue serving because she wasn’t acknowledged or appreciated, she would have missed out on the blessings that the relationship has birthed today. And by extension, I would have missed out too.
This is a typical example of God showing that He doesn’t forget. Sometimes He may reward us through the same relationship, just like He did for my wife. But He can also reward us through any other channel.
How can we serve others wholeheartedly, even when we feel like quitting?
The reality is that we’re not rocks without feelings. Sometimes, when our work isn’t appreciated, it can get to us and cause us to make irrational decisions.
We’ll start saying things like,
“I’ll never help that guy again!”
“She’s so ungrateful, this is the last time I’ll help anybody in that way!”
“Who does he think he is, telling me that I don’t deserve applause for all the work I put in? Never again!”
It’s mental conversations like these that make us quit and change who we are. But we don’t have to let our thoughts escalate into negative actions.
When we remember that all things are done unto God, it increases our tolerance threshold. Yes, we may feel that certain people don’t deserve it, but God does, and He sees us.
I currently run a business where the senior partner gets on my nerves many times. But I still get to work every day, not because I like working with him, but because God has an assignment for me in that business that I must fulfil.
If I work for his affirmations, which do feel good when they are done, I will quit when they aren’t done. But every day, I remind myself that I’m here to become who God needs me to be for the next phase of my life.
This doesn’t remove the feeling of giving up when someone tries to downplay the work I do. But I put in the work because I’m there to serve.
This also doesn’t remove the fact that quitting is possible later in the future. Everything has a beginning and an end. But when that happens, it will not be done because there is no applause or reward. It’ll be done because the time has come to move on.
The point is, if you’ve chosen to serve, then serve.
“I have chosen to change my mindset about serving others in these areas…”
You may have had scenarios where you stopped serving and changed who you are because of hurt. What are those areas? Note them down.
Then pray for a new perspective to that service so that you can continue doing the work in a way that empowers you and glorifies God.
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