Many of us grew up in churches where we were taught that God is mean and angry. We were given passages of Scripture taken out of context to support this false interpretation of God. As a result, we developed, even in our adult years, a false view of God that often interferes with our relationship with Him. No wonder God insists on having a personal and intimate relationship with us. There are certain things about God we won’t know until we have our own experience with Him. For example, someone may even think that he must breathe a certain way lest God punish him because, based on his belief system, God is strict. To others, taking a day of rest is the problem. They believe God is gracious, until they take a day of rest, let alone a vacation. But we tend to forget that Jesus took naps. He also took some time off for himself, and He even went to a wedding and feast. Personally, it took me years to allow God to change certain weird perceptions I had about Him, and I know I’m not the only one. Another thing I have realized is that even though God doesn’t say anything to you when you are doing what is right, that doesn’t mean He is not proud of you. Let’s consider Job for a moment. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he was righteous. And his ways pleased the Lord because God said he was blameless and upright (Job 1:8). However, not once does it say in the Bible that God ever told Job that He was pleased with Him or gave him a thumbs-up from heaven. God could have at least said to Job, “Look at you, my faithful servant! You’re out here killing it, you blazing fire!” but the Bible says in Job 1:5 that after a period of feasting, “Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. This was Job’s regular custom.” Therefore, I can say that Job worshiped God by faith. He might have had doubts from time to time about whether he or his children did something wrong. And this is understandable since Job never heard God say anything about him doing good. There are many things Job could have assumed about God. However, little did he know all this time, he was on God’s honor roll, even when God never told him how He felt about him. The reality is that every act of obedience, step, and effort counts for God. It is as if God would say to Job, “Boy, you are doing so well that you are the next person I’m going to pick as my witness to nations.” God was so pleased with Job that he bet on him without his consent. This also proves that God has been paying close attention to him and everything he did, including what Job might have considered mundane.
There are some things that we do and decisions that we make that are obvious. But there are things we do and decisions we make that are behind closed doors. Whether they are good or bad, God sees them all. And the sacrifices we make for Christ’s sake that no one notices, whether it is forgiving someone who doesn’t deserve it, raising the kids on our own, or taking the necessary step to remain sober. God sees those, too. A biblical example is the story of the young Hebrew men who chose not to eat from the king’s delicacies. The King James version (KJV) says, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank.” (Daniel 1:8). It is important to notice that the decision was first made in his heart, which is a secret place that no one can see but God. Also, let us not forget that God did not force these Hebrew men to do what they did as if He had imprisoned them. If anything, these men were captivated by King Nebuchadnezzar. Nonetheless, the young Hebrew men chose to please God instead of the king. God could have ignored their sacrifice; after all, He is God, and they are His creatures. In addition, these Hebrew men had no proof that God was pleased with them when they took their stance because they didn’t receive any word from God during their 10-day trial. Yet, God honored their sacrifice. Verse 15 says, “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food,” and on top of that, God gave all four of them knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.
Another example is when they threw Daniel in the lions’ den because he worshiped the true God (Daniel 6). When King Darius issued a decree that said that anyone who prays to any other god or human being except the king for thirty days would be thrown into the lions’ den. The Bible says in verses 11 and 13 that the administrator and satraps (Daniel’s haters) still found him praying three times a day, asking God for help. We know that God came through for Daniel, but we must understand that God didn’t tell him He would help him. After the first or second day of prayer, Daniel could have said ‘Forget it’ and joined the other team because it seemed as if God was unconcerned about the situation. But we saw that the way God came through for Daniel in the lions’ den was mind-blowing. Daniel didn’t even have a scratch on his body, not because the lions were not hungry, but because they were commanded not to touch Daniel. However, as soon as Daniel’s accusers were thrown into the lions’ den, the lions soon realized that lunch was finally ready and devoured them. Therefore, the king issued a decree that in every part of his kingdom, people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel (Daniel 6:26).
So, someone might be saying, “Well, how does this apply to me,” or someone else might think that your efforts are so insignificant in the grand scheme of things that God may be indifferent to you. I’m here today to tell you that God sees every single step you make, including the ones you tried to make. You serve a God who knows the number of hairs on your head. And even two sparrows that are sold for a penny, God knows when one of them falls to the ground. Therefore, rest assured that God sees you, and He is not only interested in the big steps you take, but also the baby steps. The ones that nobody sees, the efforts you put in to become a better person, and the times you say no to the things that you know will drive you away from Him. The fact that you woke up this morning, raised your hands in the air, and thanked God for protecting you through the night, instead of reaching for your phone to start scrolling as you would normally do, God sees this as progress. He sees it as you making the effort to prioritize the spiritual over the natural. God is well pleased with your efforts, even if He may not say anything to you.
It never ceases to amaze me when God reminds me of prayers that I had forgotten about, or when He decides to bless me in a particular season because I obeyed Him. This almost feels like when someone is broke, and unexpectedly, they receive a refund check from some company. This is how it feels at times when God just surprises us with blessings because He wants to honor our efforts and obedience. Each step you make, He will give you the strength to take the next step. Evil thoughts will try to convince you to see God as the one who is working against you, or that God cannot wait for you to mess up to strike you. However, this is far from the truth. Your desire and willingness to do God’s will move Him to help you. Scripture says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers Him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). Otherwise, God would be working against Himself. The truth is, every effort, big or small, every tear, every prayer, every sleepless night, every supplication is registered in God’s archives.
When you decide to make God your priority, even if you must take small steps to do so, you will realize that you were His main focus the whole time.
SCRIPTURE
“…Those who honor Me, I will honor, but those who despise Me, will be disdained.” 1 Samuel 2:30
“His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” Matthew 25:23
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