I sat amongst a small group of teenage girls, eager to dive into God’s Word with them. But when I asked a question about the text, I was met with silence. I had spent the week leading up to that night going over the passage, thinking about what questions the girls would have, and even writing out a bunch of notes so I knew how to explain the text and answer questions to the best of my ability. So when it seemed like the girls weren’t getting anything out of our time together, I felt defeated. I drove home thinking about all the other things that didn’t seem to be working. I thought of the one girl I met up with regularly, who continued to struggle with the same problems. I thought of all the curriculum I had written, wondering if it was making any difference. I questioned if I was really meant to do this job, because with little signs of success, did my efforts really matter? 

I’m sure you’ve asked yourself the same question before. Maybe you’re a mom who has had countless conversations with your kid about lying, but still they hide the truth from you. Or maybe you put extra hours into a project at your job, only to receive little thanks for your hard work. When our efforts feel wasted, it can seem like what we do makes no difference at all. What can we do in these moments when we wonder if what we do has any meaning? 

Remember God’s Hidden Work

The reason why we can feel so defeated by our efforts is because we typically gauge success by the results we can see. Our teaching is effective if our students respond to what we’re teaching. Our parenting is working if our kid’s behavior changes. Our project at work is successful if we receive a lot of praise for it. But while visible results can be signs of success, not seeing visible results doesn’t mean what we’re doing is meaningless. As followers of Christ, we can take comfort in knowing that God often works in ways unseen. In fact, that is how His kingdom operates. 

In Mark 4:26–32, Jesus teaches two parables involving a seed. In His first parable, He explains that God’s kingdom is like a farmer who scatters seed. He does his part in sowing the seed, but the seed grows and flourishes on its own. In the second parable, Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a small mustard seed. Though it’s small, when it’s sown, it grows taller than all the other garden plants. Jesus uses these two parables to teach that God’s kingdom grows in ways that may appear slow and inconspicuous—but even so, God’s hidden power is bringing growth that will result in a kingdom far greater than one could imagine. So when it seems as if our efforts are wasted, we can remember God's hidden work and take comfort in knowing that when we can’t see what God is doing, we can trust that He is working. 

Trust God’s Hidden Work Through You 

The way God and His Kingdom work also reminds us that the way God works through us will often be unseen. How God chooses to use us won’t always come with immediate results. We might not always see the fruit of our efforts over time. But the wonderful truth is that what we do matters to God and His kingdom. As followers of Christ, we belong to God’s kingdom and work for God’s kingdom. We live under God’s rule and reign and are used by Him to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Like the parables of Mark 4:26–32 teach us, though we are the ones who share the message of the gospel and faithfully honor the Lord through our actions, it’s God’s power that provides the growth. 

This means that God is always working through us, even when we can’t see how, and He uses our faithful actions to accomplish His great purposes. As Paul powerfully declares in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.” We can find comfort in the hidden work of God through us, knowing that even if our efforts feel wasted, nothing done for God is ever wasted. 

Find Hope in the Eternity to Come 

Though God works through us in ways often unseen, there are times when we are able to see how God worked through us. If you’re a mom, you might look back and see how God worked through your kids to shape them more into the image of Christ. Or you might look back at discouraging seasons and see how God used those experiences to shape your faith or bring you even better opportunities. 

But even when we can’t see the fruit of our efforts in this lifetime, we can find hope in the eternity to come. In Matthew 25:14–30, Jesus gives a parable about a master giving his servants talents to a steward. The servants who invested their talents and produced more talents were told, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy” (Matthew 25:21, 23). As followers of Christ, these are the words we should long to hear in eternity—“Well done, good and faithful servant.” While we shouldn’t work faithfully for the Lord only to be commended in eternity, desiring to be deemed a good and faithful servant by God encourages us to work heartily for the Lord (Colossians 3:23). After all, while we are focused on immediate and visible results, God is more concerned with our faithfulness to Him. He desires for us to walk in faithful obedience to Him, even if such obedience doesn’t yield instant fruit. 

So in the moments we feel like our efforts are wasted, we can look toward eternity and allow the desire to be a faithful servant to encourage our everyday obedience to the Lord. And in our efforts to walk in faithfulness to God, we can remember that it’s God’s Spirit in us who enables us to be faithful servants. May we rely on the Spirit to help us work for God’s glory and trust that God will powerfully work through all that we do. 

Author Bio:

Alexa Hess is a writer and the Acquisitions Manager for The Daily Grace Co. She holds a Ministry to Women degree from Southeastern Seminary and is the women’s ministry leader at her church. She resides outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and enjoys hiking with her husband, reading good books, and discovering new restaurants.

Additional Resources for Trusting God’s Work:

Never Alone Bible Study		Waiting for Hope | Malachi Bible Study		What Did You Expect?		Is God Enough for Me? | Contentment Bible Study
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