[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Increase comes from God

By Oke Chinye

Read: 1 Corinthians 3:1-15

Meditation verse:

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

We were created to work and not to be idle. Ephesians 2:10 says, “we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”. As soon as God created the first man, he gave him an assignment; to till the garden, be fruitful and dominate the earth. You were put on this earth to fulfill your own assignment and take dominion over the earth. There will always be work for you to do. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says that whatever your hand finds to do, do it well. The size of a task is immaterial, your responsibility is to always give it your best. The outcomes and results you get whilst accomplishing a task are up to God.

The Apostle Paul said he planted, and Apollos watered but God was the one who gave the increase. In order words, the results of their efforts were in God’s hands. This is an important insight for anyone feeling discouraged by the outcomes of their efforts in whatever task they are doing. If you have toiled in a particular endeavor but have seen minimal results, keep toiling. Proverbs 16:33 (NLT) says “we may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall” Ecclesiastes 11:5 says as we do understand the path of the wind or how the bones grow in a woman with a child, so we do not understand the working of God. Psalm 75:6 says that promotion does not come from the East, West, or South. Romans 9:16 says that it does not therefore depend on man’s efforts.

Increase comes from God. Keep working at the tasks you have been given. Commit to whatever your hand finds to do. Stay faithful and do not relent. “Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). Do not cast away your confidence, for in due season, you will reap if you do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9). Be rest assured that whatever God is involved in must grow. So, commit your work to Him and you will succeed.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

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