The Training

Matthew 25:²⁹ “For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him.” (LB)

If you use the time that you have now wisely, investing in other people and making life better for others, God will give you more of it. If you invest your resources, your finances, and your money in making other people’s lives better, God will give you more. That is simply how it works. Is it your energy? If you invest your energy well, God will give you more energy in return. Have you met people who seem to never run out of energy? It is because they are investing their energy in the purposes of God and in people’s lives. So, God keeps infusing them with more energy.

The same thing applies to influence. If you use your influence for other people, God will enlarge your influence. But if you have influence, you have connections, and all that you are thinking of is how you are going to use it to open doors for yourself. After a while, you will notice that the influence is limited. But if you use your influence to help other people, not only will it benefit you, but God will also increase your influence. God will also make other people’s influence work for you. Again, that is how it works. I am praying you get this. Luke 16:^9-13 “Jesus: “I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends for eternity. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven… BUT if you are unfaithful with your worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? …You cannot serve both God and money.” (NIV, paraphrased with emphasis added).

So, how do I pay attention to the things that can grow my faithfulness, the things God wants me to pay attention to? The first thing is God Uses The Little Things To Test My Faithfulness. The second thing is God Uses My Talent To Test My Unselfishness. The third thing is God Uses Tough Times To Test My Persistence. You are never a failure until you quit. God will use tough times to test your persistence because it is part of your faithfulness training and testing. It is always too soon to quit. Every time you want to quit, it is always too soon to quit, every single time!

2 Corinthians 4:^16-18 “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (emphasis added). God uses tough times to test my persistence.  God uses tough times to test your persistence.

Prayer: Father, empower me to pass my tests and thrive in training, in Jesus Name. Amen!