Don’t Give Up — Aneel Aranha

Hello and welcome to The Hope Podcast. I’m Aneel Aranha. Today we are going to talk about how when we are faithful with the ordinary, God does the extraordinary. 

I know some of us feel cheated in life. We think that when God was dishing out blessings, he served us a raw deal. And then there is the constant grind of daily life. We work hard in our jobs, but we receive no rewards. Despite all the effort we put into our relationships, we don’t see any results. Even our constant and continuous prayers bear no fruit. It feels like we are on a merry-go-round, spinning endlessly in circles. 

It is easy to get discouraged when this happens. We want to sing with Patsy Cline: “Stop the world and let me off! I’m tired of goin’ round and round.” We also feel frustrated, believing that we can do much more than we are currently doing, which makes us angry and resentful. And, of course, there is anger that we never get the proper breaks. 

Let us take heart. In life’s journey, this is one test that we have to go through to make progress of any merit, especially spiritually. We have to remain faithful, even when we cannot see any positive results. This means doing our best in our jobs, relationships, and every other aspect of our lives, including the time we spend in prayer, even when nothing seems to happen. 

When we faithfully do what might not be exciting or interesting; when we try to be excellent in doing things that are dull and boring; when we show a positive attitude when everything around us is hostile and oppressive; then we show God that he can trust us to do more important things. As Jesus once said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). And then there will be much! 

If we look at some of the more successful people around us, we will notice they all had this trait of persevering even when the going was difficult or monotonous. Conversely, if we look at unsuccessful people, they didn’t have staying power. They’d latch on to something, and in the beginning, when it was all new and exciting, they’d be filled with enthusiasm, but the moment it became dull, they’d lose interest and eventually quit. What can God do with quitters?

God has some great and beautiful plans for you, dear friend, but is waiting to see what you will do with what you have. So, do the best you can in whatever you do. Give it your 100%. Do it with all the love you can muster. And when God sees that you are faithful with the ordinary, he will do the extraordinary in your life. You will reap abundant fruit for your labor and secure a rich harvest for your efforts. 

God bless you.