Devotionals

God Of Growth

by Stephen Wong
12/28/19
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“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”                   

1 Corinthians 3:6-7  NIV

A couple of years ago, I was helping to run an Alpha group for university students interested in finding out more about Christianity. Although this was a really exciting ministry to be a part of, I often faced discouragements and challenges. Very few students seemed interested in the group, and the students who did seem interested were often unable to attend. There were a few weeks when no students came along to our session. Although it was tempting to just give up, I knew that it was important to remain faithful to this ministry and to keep trusting God with the results, even if there didn’t seem to be much growth in my own eyes.

Similarly, Paul also recognised God’s sovereignty over our ministry in his first letter to the Corinthians. The Corinthian church had been struggling with division and jealousy. The church members had been taking sides about which church leader was the most important. Some people felt that it was better to follow Paul while others believed it was better to follow Apollos. Yet Paul reminded the Corinthians that Apollos and him were merely co-workers in God’s work field, but only God can grow his church. Paul wanted the believers to take their focus away from depending on human leaders and realise that the true source of power for any work is in God.  

Knowing that only God gives the growth can be a great encouragement for our ministries today. We live in a culture that focuses much on productivity and we can fall into the trap of judging our faithfulness in serving God based on the results of our ministry. Yet perhaps many of us have faithfully served in various ministries over several years and still it seems that people in our church are not growing or that church attendance is not increasing. Perhaps many of us have worked tirelessly in trying to spread the good news about Jesus only to face rejection and disappointment again and again. Paul reminds us that we are not in control of the results of our ministry. Only God is in control of bringing the growth. Our role is to keep faithfully serving God, even when the results don’t meet our hopes and expectations, and to trust that he will work out his plans in his own perfect timing, and just like Apollos and Paul, each of us will be rewarded by God for the work we do (1 Corinthians 3:8). Don’t lose hope in your ministry! The Bible reminds us that nothing we do for God will ever be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). 

Having you been serving God in a particular way but it seems to be bearing little fruit? Pray that God would strengthen and encourage you to keep serving faithfully, and trust him to bring the growth in accordance with his will.   

Lord God,

I thank you for giving us the privilege of being co-workers for your kingdom. I pray that you would continue to empower us and give us the gifts we need to faithfully serve you each day in the ministries you have given us. Only you can bring the growth through the work we do, so help us to trust you to work out your wonderful plan and bear much fruit through all that we say and do, and give us the strength to wait for your perfect timing. In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen