Your Work Shall Be Rewarded
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 15:1–9
“Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded,” 2 Chronicles 15:7.
Your Work Shall Be Rewarded
“And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them,” 2 Chronicles 15:1–4.
There are two pertinent verses in this passage. Verse 7, which is important because Asa is receiving encouragement from the Lord. When prophetic word comes it is often to give encouragement. If you receive a prophetic word that puts you in sorrow, comes on you like a weight, these words are not from God. The Word of God comes primarily to encourage, but when there is a warning, the words also offer a way out.
Verse 2 is important because it says the Lord is with you when you are with Him; He will be found of you if you seek Him. These are words of encouragement, but then we are told if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. These are words of warning and you are given the choice. When you read the Word of God, you should be filled with strength and encouragement. No matter what you are going through today the Word of God is coming to you, encouraging you to be strong for your work shall be rewarded.
“And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them, out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him,” 2 Chronicles 15:8–9.
When God rewards your work, there will be favour; others will want to work with you. People often wait to see the hand of God in something before they acquiesce to help you. You can have fantastic ideas and if you know they are from God, keep doing what you have to do. And while you are doing that work, God will touch hearts and turn people to come and encourage that work. Many feel discouraged in their work with God and wonder when the rewards will come. Sometimes it seems like you are carrying on and nobody appreciates or acknowledges what you are doing, but I come to you today with the Word of God, “…let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded,” verse 7. Work is force in action. It is not what you are planning to do for God next year that will be rewarded, it is what you have done and are doing now.
Second Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” God is looking out for people who are looking out for Him. Are you looking out for God or are you looking out for yourself? If you are looking out for God, working for God, thinking on what to do for God, and you have gone beyond thinking to doing, God is telling you to be strong, work hard, and you shall be rewarded. God rewards in a manner that you know is from God; He always gives you a sign to let you know it is His reward, His signature. Expect a reward from Him and know that His rewards are usually extraordinary, supernatural, and magnificent; they are majestic in the order of the majestic God we serve.
Right now God is searching nation-by-nation, house by house looking for those who are working, putting out their life force to please Him. He is looking for those engrossed with the things of the Lord. I pray that you will keep on doing the work that you are doing, that God will send you strength from above, that you will get the full reward in Jesus’ name. Man does not take note of your work but I affirm to you that God takes note and He has promised that your work shall be rewarded in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Points:
You cannot begin to work for a God you do not know. The ability to work for God comes with Jesus being in your heart giving you the born-again experience and the born-again lifestyle. I have encouragement for you if you are not born again; this is the time to accept Jesus by praying, “Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you. Write my name in the book of life and cause my work to be rewarded. Give me the grace to work for you and let my work be rewarded in Jesus’ name.” Amen.
