Daily devotion – in praise of plodders
In praise of plodders
Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
Many people today are after the burst of fame or self-glory in serving the Lord. Over the 40 plus years Helen and I have been in the ministry we have seen such people come and go before us. People who have sought the limelight in ministry, which is actually an oxymoron. People who have desire the grand stage of the public eye, whose motives have been misplaced and over pronounced.
Such people are like the old-fashioned skyrocket. They come with a burst way above others but soon fade into oblivion.
The Bible teaches us a far different way that is ministry. Zacharias and Elizabeth had over many years, faithfully and consistently served the God of Israel. They have not been blessed with children in all that time. Yet still continue to be selfless and faithful in ministry. Yet God describes them wonderfully – “they were both righteous before God, walking in ALL the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” They had done this all the years of their lives and now they were in their advanced years we are told.
As they have done all the years previously, they are still faithfully serving the Lord and now an angel of the Lord appears to Zacharias, as he is serving.
God is going to bless them with a baby boy, John the Baptist, and he will prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. Wow!
God uses the faithful plodders, He knows their ministry intimately and here now a great blessing is given.
It is people who like Zacharias and Elizabeth who are the backbone of local Churches. They just are always there, serving faithfully. They seek no glory or recognition for themselves or what they do. How we need more like them today!
Maybe you are a plodder. God is watching your faithful ministry and He will, in His time, use you to bring glory to His name.
Thank God for the plodders….