Quiet Faithfulness in Christ

Hey there, welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading is titled, Quiet Faithfulness in Christ, and it was written by Adam Holz. I didn't notice him at first. I'd come down for breakfast at my hotel. Everything in the dining room was clean. The buffet table was filled. The refrigerator was stocked.

The utensil container packed tight. Everything was perfect. Then I saw him. An unassuming man refilled this, wiped that.

He didn't draw attention to himself. But the longer I sat, the more I was amazed. The man was working very fast, noticing everything and refilling everything before anyone might need something. As a food service veteran, I noticed his constant attention to detail. Everything was perfect because this man was working faithfully, even if you noticed. Watching this man work so meticulously, I recalled Paul's words to the Thessalonians. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.

You should mind your own business and work with your hands so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders. Paul understood how a faithful worker might win others' respect, offering a quiet testimony to how the Gospel can infuse even seemingly small acts of service for others with dignity and purpose. I don't know if the man I saw that day was a believer in Jesus, but I'm grateful his quiet diligence reminded me to rely on God to live out a quiet faithfulness that reflects his faithful ways. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 and verses 9 through 12. As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more, for you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

And now picking up at verse 9. Now about your love for one another, we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other, and in fact you do love all of God's family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders, and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. Let's pray. Father, help us to remember that there really is no small job in your kingdom, and to serve you faithfully each and every day, no matter how big or how small, the tasks or the jobs or where you've put us in this moment. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen Tabor, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.