Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 Thomas Edison, who invented the electric light bulb spent more than $100,000 to attain 6000 different specimens of fiber for his experiments. He failed a miserable 5,997 times. Only three of the elements he tested proved suitable. But Edison refused to quit because he didn’t see the results of his effort. He persisted in his task because he knew the result would qualify his efforts.
I was pondering my work the other day. In my early days in Christian radio broadcasting, I received many wonderful responses from listeners, which greatly encouraged me. Today I possibly reach far more people through my radio programming than ever before but receive very little response. Have I failed? I reason that, due to the excessive media output we’re all subject to in the information age, people, these days, do not generally respond to radio as much as they did 20 years ago. Nevertheless, I often feel like I’ve failed in my God-given task.
Then the Lord reminded me that with every word I speak under his anointing, I lay up for myself heavenly treasures. Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Though I don’t see the results of my labor, the Lord is watching over his word that I speak, and he will bring it to fruition in the lives of the hearers. Though I feel like I’ve failed because I don’t see the results of my work, I know that with every word I speak the result will qualify my efforts.
Keep going. Never give up because you see no results. If you are following God’s call on your life, then you can rest assured the results are mounting up. The Lord is watching over his call on your life. By his grace, the Lord is doing the work through you. Grace is God’s doing. In the end, when you are called up yonder, you will be astounded at the treasures you have laid up for yourself in heaven.