Faithful

Matt. 25:21   His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Father God, we sometimes become confused and distracted when pursuing worldly success. The world tells us that a good and prosperous life can be measured by what we own; what we wear; what kind of cars we drive; where we go to school; our addresses; our levels of academic achievement; our sizes and shapes; our good looks; and many other eternally non-consequential factors. Sadly, most of the indicators held in high regard by the world’s standards mean absolutely nothing after the grave. True wisdom leads us to surrender our gifts, talents, opportunities and other blessings to Your sovereign power and divine use. Otherwise, it is all for nothing.

Lord, our true success, significance and eternal value have nothing to do with earthly fame or fortune; but everything to do with how lovingly and obediently we walk before You. Today we ask You to search our hearts and see if there is any wicked way in us. Are we achieving the assignments You gave in the beginning of our days? Are we spreading the light of the gospel of Christ in this dark world? Are we encouraging and assisting others to live up to Your call for their lives? Are we seeking the salvation of the lost? Is Your Word our cannon or are we following arbitrary measures of the world’s making? Lord, please cause us to challenge ourselves with these and other questions to determine the true measure of our success in Your eyes; knowing only what we do for Christ will last through time and eternity.

Holy God, we pray that You open our eyes to the reality that a successful life completes the assigned work that You, “prepared beforehand - that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Let us hold the things of eternal value in highest regard. Holy God, our hearts‘ desire is to please You. And at the end of our days, these are the words we long for You to declare: “Well done, my good and faithful servant, you have been faithful…”. Oh God, please cause us to be faithful and obedient before You.  We pray that it would be so.  In Jesus Name we pray, amen.