““If we’re frustrated when the Internet is slow or excessively irritated by the full-basketed shopper in the express lane, then it’s pretty likely that we’re going to be discouraged if our ministry efforts don’t soon bear visible fruit. We’re an instantaneous people, and we carry that expectation into every area of life. But God doesn’t work that way, as a close look at his work through redemptive history will reveal. When it comes to results, serving God faithfully means serving him blindly. We may never see the fruit of our prayers or our teaching or our writing or our godly parenting or whatever form our calling takes. If getting tangible results is our prerequisite for service, at some point we are bound to give up. We will only keep going if we do as Paul instructed: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23).””
