As we have been focusing on how to judge ourselves in the faith, let us now move on to how we judge our work in the Lord. First, let us consider that as it is not easy to judge ourselves, as we will tend to be either too generous or too harsh with ourselves. It can be even more difficult to judge our work in the Lord. Yet, we want to know that our efforts are not in vain, and we want to bear fruit that remains according to the Lord’s exhortation. How do we know this?

      Again, we are not our own judges; the Lord is our judge. So, how do we know His judgement of our work? The first principle of the wisdom to know His judgement is to see through the eyes of humility concerning ourselves, our works, and the unfathomable magnificence and glory of the Lord and His works.

       We also know from the biblical witness that the Lord will bless many things He will not inhabit, as well as works that may not last but can serve a purpose in the short term. I have seen and been part of works that did not last, but did seem to help some—sometimes many—of His people in their sojourn. We can recognize these and be thankful.

      Psalm 90:17 says, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands.” The grace of the Lord is more valuable than any earthly treasure, but the favor of the Lord is even more so. As one friend used to say, “One moment of the favor of the Lord is worth a lifetime of effort.” That the blessing of the Lord would be upon our works is wonderful and should be an encouragement. However, His presence is a far higher endorsement than even His blessings.

      We should rejoice and be thankful for His blessings but not be satisfied with only them. We were made to be His dwelling place—His temple—and should not be satisfied with anything less than that. In all of creation, the greatest reward and the highest calling is to be near Him. It is also His greatest desire to be near us.

      The way is not just a map; it is a person. Truth is more than just knowing accurate doctrine, though we do of course want this. However, truth is a person who must become our life if we are to really have the way and the truth (see John 14:6). Our primary goal must be more than just doing His work; it must be to follow Him, abide in Him, and get ever closer to Him. It is therefore His presence that more than anything confirms the significance of a work.

      Many get distracted from the River of Life by a tributary that feeds it. This can be a certain doctrine or teaching we begin to esteem and follow more than Him. It can be a project we are doing for Him. Some have been distracted by starting to worship the temple of the Lord more than the Lord of the temple. Some will tend to esteem almost any of the things of God more than Him. Some will even begin to focus more on the worship of God than the God we worship.

      Worshiping the things of the Lord more than Him can be a deadly trap, and it is a great error. This is what the Pharisees did, so that those who had the greatest hope in the coming of the Messiah became the greatest opposition to Him when He came.

      As the great apostle wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” We cannot become His temple by being overly focused on His temple. We will become His dwelling place by not letting even the greatest truths and blessings of the Lord eclipse our devotion to Him. It’s a noble cause to want to help build Him a place to dwell, but we cannot let even our devotion to this become greater than our devotion to the Lord Himself.

© 2024 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.