“And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to revive, and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” 29:21

This verse reminded me of something important: we do not work for the approval of people, but for the glory of God.

Ezekiel is point-blank told that his messages are not going to get through to people for a long time. And this happens to a lot of the prophets! They’re told, hey no ones going to listen to you, but say it anyway.

I’m a direct result of an instant-gratification culture. But this is not gospel culture. There are very few stories with instant results. Instead, there’s stories about 40 year camping trips and poor, sweet Jacob working, what, 14 years? To earn the right to marry the love of his life?

Jesus speaks in parables about gardening. Mature plants that stabilize over time and seasons. Seasons of hard work and labor or seasons that are cold and bare.

God’s culture is slow-paced, steadfast and requires longevity of your faith. For example, Ezekiel could not have possibly hung in there if he was hoping for quick results or fast friends. Sometimes (really, I feel confident saying most of the time), being God’s messenger is lonely and without any reward, initially. There are several circumstances where I feel confident I did the right thing, or spoke the truth I needed to speak, and never got to see/receive the fruit from that.

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Or maybe, you’re reaping fruit someone else sowed. I feel like that with my husband a lot. I look at him, admiring what a godly, intentional and hard-working man he is and just delight in how lucky my kids and I are to have him. But it was his family, teachers and mentors who put in the work, and honestly not very many of them get to see the type of man he is today.

Who are you working for? I love the perspective Galatians 1:10 gives us.

Who has put in the work on you in the past? Take a minute and thank God (and them, if you can!) for the people he’s put in your path.

-Carly