Nothing of Value Comes Without Effort

With my recent move and settling into a new location closer to our grand-kids, it has been a while since I’ve shared my thoughts.  I suspected that our last home that I built thirty-three years ago would be my place of residence until that final relocation in the sky, but God had other plans.

When you think you have everything figured out and all is going well, God sometimes throws a curve and decision time is here again.  When this happens, everyday routines change and the looking back is usually pleasant or perhaps it isn’t.  Nevertheless, we can trust the sovereignty of God, knowing that He is mindful of our steps.

(Psalm 37:23) “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”

To set in motion God’s plan, we can find ourselves stepping through one door, which leads to other doors that we can choose to walk through or not.  When we believe that all things work together in positive ways for born-again Believers, the will of God is easier to recognize and accept concerning our future.

Sometimes the door in front of us is a bit intimidating to step through, because we cannot see what lies beyond.  But we can put our faith in God to open the door that no man can close or to keep it closed that no man can open.  Thus, we walk by faith if we are of a mind to do so. 

Ultimately, it is our choice; we are free moral agents to choose door #1, door #2, or door #3.  God does not usurp our will, but the Holy Spirit, in fact, moves in our heart to choose rightly.  It is up to us to make the final decision.

For the most part, it is easier to float along with the tide of everyday living and just exist without putting forth an effort to see what is on the other side of the door.  We can become content in well-doing without venturing to far from our comfort-zone, whereas, this movement or lack thereof profits little or nothing.

As I see it, to set back on one’s laurels, lacking the intestinal fortitude to even attempt something new or challenging is like saying I am content with the status quo.  This reluctant attitude of stepping out in faith to see what God has in store for us says a lot about our station in life.  It is easy to give into Satan’s scheme to subdue and set us on the shelf of “do nothing.”

This attitude is a sure way to fail without any effort being manifested.  A person’s behavior of “why try” runs a close parallel to “I give up.”  We must shake our self awake from the supposed, compulsory sleep that has inadvertently overshadowed us. 

To change venue, job employment, so-called friends, or whatever area you are drowning in, takes courage to reach out and take the doorknob and turn it by faith and see what God has for you.  Nothing of value comes without effort.  Determining in your soul to transform certain attitudes is important.  As my father-in-law would say, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

The old nature that says, “Less effort equals failure before doing anything,” becomes less and less noticeable, because “success” is now in one’s vocabulary of hopes and dreams that can be achieved with God’s help.

My dad was a great believer in doing your very best at whatever you set your mind to do.  God will advance our efforts, because He wants the most excellent blessings for His children.  But we must show ourselves worthy of our hire so that God can move forward with His plan for bigger and better things in our life.  This takes effort on our part.

I have often prayed for God to lock the door in front of me or swing it wide open so that I would know that it was He who was doing the work.  Moving from one city to another was no exception, especially this late in life. 

Step by step as door after door opened, it filled me with exhilaration and stimulated my trust in God even more.  I said earlier that looking back is usually pleasant or perhaps not.  I wish I could say that the move was all roses and that nothing unpleasant happened, but this was not the case.  Challenges did happen, but I was not out of the will of the Lord. 

Through each situation my wife and I continued to believe that God wanted us in the same city as our children and grandchildren.  For the most part, all went well, but Satan seemed to raise his ugly head in the best of times to cause us to doubt God’s supremacy.  As an old friend once said, “Keep on keeping on.”  This is what we did.

Looking back we can certainly see the hand of God working out all things in our behalf that were temporary roadblocks that Satan had placed in our pathway.  God’s peace never left us.  The move was and is fruitful, as is our relationship with our sons, daughters, and grandchildren.  The value of togetherness was the result of effort put forth, and of course, trusting God.

Knowing that God’s will is perfect, and believing that God opened a door before us through circumstances, spiritual conformations, or things just working out, it is my nature to be cautiously optimistic when stepping over the threshold into another realm of God’s perfection—guarded in some respects, because I believe that we are to move with caution and eyes open.

When it seems the honeymoon could be over, figuratively speaking, and doubts begin to flood the mind that a wrong decision was made, we must stop, look, and listen to what God is saying; what He wants us to see; and what He wants us to learn.  When we take to heart God’s reasons why the door was there, we again feel His peace.  Resisting the devil’s attempts to create doubt regarding God’s excellence is crucial.  Remember, Satan’s roar is harmless and he is the father of lies.

Perhaps God is challenging our ability to deal with adversities and trust Him for the answers, or He is merely testing our character as to how we deal with the negativity going on in our brain.  Rather than slacking our responsibility to husband, wife, being a parent, or relaxing initiative concerning our employer that hired us in good faith, we must shake our self into submission and rise above downbeat thinking. 

God honors good, moral fiber in those that stand admirably in the face of adversity.  Unhappiness or discontentment can cause premature decisions to be made.  Waiting on God makes sense.  It is crucial.  Being out of God’s will is not a good place to be.  Wrong decisions can change the providence of not only one’s self, but everyone in close proximity to the one making decisions.  

Boredom can create bad habits in the workplace as well as other areas of life when we permit it to consume our better judgment.  For this reason we must resist irritation, not allowing it to devour our happiness.  Waiting for God’s solution and perfect timing is vital when troubles or tribulations arise.  Trusting God and keeping a good attitude about things keep us focused and out of the mulligrubs—ill-tempered mood.

The worst time to make decisions is when we are in the valley of despair.  God sees us where we are and desires the best for His children.  Believe it!  When we keep the right attitude, our Father in heaven will do what He said He would do to provide us with a successful and happy life.  We need to trust Him and put forth the effort it takes to achieve the value of God’s best.

The door God places in front of us can come about through situations changing, word-of-mouth attesting to one’s strength of character and skill, spiritual conformation, or things just working out for our good.  However or whatever God chooses to bring about His ideal purpose concerning us will happen, but we need to be patient and be willing to put forth the effort it takes to open the door when it comes into view.  Nothing of value comes without effort.

There might be a thousand reasons that God needed you where you are, yet we sometimes see through a glass darkly, not seeing the total picture.  Don’t lose heart, in time God clears obscurity-of-vision to reveal the reasons if we are looking for those reasons, rather than complaining and keeping our head bowed low and asking, “Why?”

When we hold our head high and make the most out of the new position, the new location, or new surroundings, a positive attitude develops, especially when we recognize God’s hand at work in our life, while taking heed to those He placed around us.  Perhaps they need a relationship with Almighty God, and God chose you to bring the Good News that Jesus Christ is the answer for their life.

Some doors are placed in our path so that we can influence others in positive ways.  Doors also help us to grow in faith and character in preparation for the next door of opportunity that God sets before us.

When we prove ourselves to God through endeavors to achieve excellence at our present employment, neighborhood, church we attend, volunteer work we are involved with; whatever the mission field we are willing to attach ourselves to, God continues to advance us in ways that will stagger our mind and mental ability to grasp all that the Lord is doing on our behalf.

God sees our faithfulness, tenacity and ongoing effort to prove our self.  He will advance us even higher, because His blessings are limitless.  We are His children and He will give us the desires of our heart.  Believe it!

(Matthew 25:23) “His lord said to him, ‘Well done good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.’"

Written by,
Papa Boyd