Faith is in Him, not in my requests…

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:10–14)

This passage goes on and is for a specific situation, but God's Spirit stopped me here to remind me that when I pray, my motivation is that God can do anything. His power is not me putting Him to the test, as if to say, “If You can…” nor even if He will. I can ask because of a sense of need, but faith trusts Him to do what is best, not a test to see if He cares or if He can. Both are assumed, yet not in relation to my request. I pray because I trust Him to listen and do what is best for me and for the situation.

One person on my prayer list cries out for healing. Do I know that her pain is going to draw her closer to Jesus? If it is, and God did what I asked, could it be interfering with His plan? Perhaps a “no” or a “wait” answer is to build my patience, never mind hers. Do I really know the will of God or how to pray?

Ahaz may have often prayed to test God. If he refused to do that but also refused to pray at all, then God was teaching this man a thing or two about his own sinfulness and wanting him to see that his motivations were off kilter.

Last week I did something that looked good on the surface. However, I used it to ask this: “Did I ask this because I cared about the other person? Or did I do it for my own benefit?” I knew right away that I can easily do right things with wrong motives, and when God looks at what I do, He considers both deeds and motives:

“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10)
“. . . . And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” (Revelation 2:23)

This is why the NT speaks of the Bema judgment of Christians and says some of what we do is merely useless, even if if wasn’t considered sinful.

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11–15)

I’m aware that my motivation is important, for it does not fit with what Jesus said about prayer: “May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That is, praying what I want and do should match what He wants or it will not pass the ‘wood, hay, straw’ test of fire. This sort of sin will not rob me of the free gift of eternal life in Christ, but I will suffer loss.

Lord Jesus, one way I know when I’m in error is that the fruit of the Spirit vanishes when I’m doing or even selfishly. Without that fruit of love, joy, peace, and other spiritual attitudes that come only from You. If I’m upset, worried, unhappy, or mean — even in my thoughts, I’m filled with me and not walking in the Spirit. Thank you for clearly warning me when flesh moves in and I need to confess and ask You to again fill me and change my heart. Your words to Ahaz tell me that the sign always given is that You came. You are “God with me” — my Immanuel — and You are all that I need.

Heaven’s Reward

 

In the OT, the general sense of words translated REWARD concerns the result of behavior. When someone does the will of God, they experience a pleasing outcome. If not, their reward is harsh. This fits with God saying that His commands are for our good, and with Psalm 28:4 that says, “Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.” Proverbs 22:4 repeats this: “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.”

David knew this. In his conflict with Saul, David refused to kill the king saying this in 1 Samuel 26:23: “The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”

One of the OT words translated REWARD concerns children. Abraham was promised a great reward concerning numberless offspring. When Israel lamented their losses as they were scattered, in Jeremiah 31:16–17 using the same word, the Lord told them, “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future and your children shall come back to their own country.” Using another Hebrew word, Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”

While the OT focus is on the rewards of right living in this life, the focus in the NT shifts to eternal rewards. Part of the reason is that those who live godly lives for Christ in this life will experience persecution. Jesus said for that, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” He also made clear that if our motive for obedience is to impress others, that will be the only reward we will get. Secret obedience will be rewarded in contrast to deeds done for personal glory.

Paul understood. In 1 Corinthians 9:16–18 his said his motivation was not to gain from his ministry but a strong need God put in his heart to serve for others:

“For if I preach the gospel that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.”

He also wrote about the end of life when Christians appear before the Bema judgment of Christ, not a judgment about salvation but one that discerns rewards for obedience. He said:

1 Corinthians 3:11–15. “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Colossians 3:23–24. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Of course this inheritance is eternal life and the wonders of it. Whatever a Christian might experience in this life, the next will be perfection and well worth whatever we may have endured here. This is foundational to our faith: Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” and as the rest of that chapter says, this is the reason for enduring; we know what is coming.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. My main reason for following Jesus is not the thought of any reward, yet His promises often encourage me. Just a glimpse of His glory does too. The Scriptures may not plainly state it, but the greatest reward is not the glory of heaven but being with Jesus. He is my reward. He came into my life and changed everything. He loves me and never leaves me. He blesses me every day and because of Him, I know that eternity will be incredible and yet none of it so incredible as being with my Lord and Savior, my forever Friend, my reward.