Daily devotion – in praise of plodders
Mat 20:16 “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen
My two favourite services each week are Sunday nights and Wednesday prayer and study nights. Sunday nights, because I get the opportunity to personally sit under God’s Word and have my Bible open, take notes, and to have God speak to me as a believer. To give the Holy Spirit that time in life, to speak to my heart of how wonderful salvation is!
Wednesday’s nights are similar, because on those nights I teach verse by verse through the Bible to people who are hungry to grow in their walk with God and gather to pray with His Church. There is a uniqueness to both these services that you have to be there to know what I am talking about, to experience.
Which leads me to my point for today. How often have you been in a service and thought, “This message is exactly the information and wisdom that _________ needs to hear.”
We have all thought this I am sure right. But over the 42 plus years of pastoring and teaching, the conclusion to this matter is far different to what you may think. The message, no matter when it is being taught, that message is for those seated and listening.
Too often we play God and think that His timing is out, or that God’s ministry is misdirected. That is so far from the truth of the matter. If you are there, the message, taught through the Word of God is for those who hearts are hungry and, in attendance.
From the moment that Helen and I were saved in 1977, we have attended every possible service that the Church has made available. We lived in Spearwood initially at the time and our Church was in Victoria Park. We had a young growing family, yet the distance made no matter to us. God had saved us, and we loved to be in His Church growing, learning and serving, every chance we could.
We have so much of God’s blessing available to us here in Australia at this moment that we take for granted regarding ministry availability.
Over the years I have had many a person approach me and say they are thinking of studying perhaps at a Bible College or some other institution. To become more serious in their walk with God. So I am asked what would I recommend for their Christian growth and learning, thinking more in terms of a Bible College or some such institution.
My first thoughts are pretty simple – see if you can attend Church regularly first of all and seize the already overflow of opportunity right under your nose before you look down the road to distant horizons.
I have a wonderful book written by Pastor Warren Wiersbe titled, “In Praise of Plodders.” I recommend it to you all. Pastor Wiersbe, a wonderful bible commentator and teacher, lays it out in his book that the most successful and faithful servants of God are those who are steady and faithful in their devotion and service to God.
It is these people who are the ‘gold nuggets’ of any successful Church. They are reliable, faithful and they simply get on with God and never miss an opportunity to learn and to gather with His Church.
Many years ago, I worked in a lage industry that had 2 – 3,000 workers attending one location. Many Italian and Portuguese migrants worked there and they held the lowest of labouring positions. But they never missed a day and any extra work they put their hand up to do. It was these same plodders, who never missed a day – who paid cash for their homes, cash for their cars and supported their children to places of higher learning.
I worked with a man who had been in charge of a large wood manufacturing industry who had worked his way up from being a tradesman, a carpenter. I remember him tell me a piece of wisdom that I have never forgot.
He said people are always looking for the shortcuts, the ‘tricks of the trade’ to be successful. He would always tell them, “Don’t seek to learn the tricks of the trade, learn the trade!”
Many Church attendees are looking for the latest fad, the next big thing, instead of everyday learning to know God by reading the Bible, serving the Lord and praying.
If you sincerely want to grow in your walk with God, become a plodder, seize every opportunity to hear and learn God’s Word, and God will do the rest.
Take step one and utilise every time there are services available to learn and know the Word of God. Your life will change dramatically over time and God will be able to use you where others are still thinking or missing.
1Co 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.