Abounding and Steadfast

Our world operates in a pattern of cause and effect. If you throw a ball up in the air, it will come down. If most of the world gets off work at five, there will be a traffic jam at 5:15. We often take that same cause and effect pattern and apply it to our spiritual journey. When I labor, I will see results. When I study my Bible, I will always experience joy and delight in God's word. When I encourage someone to trust the Lord, I'll see their faith bolster. When I serve in church, I'll see good things happen. Many times, that does happen. Other times, it doesn't. What do we do when the results don't seem to match our efforts?

1 Corinthians 15:58 answers that question: "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." Because of my desire to see the Kingdom advance and my faith grow, it's easy to latch onto the command to be steadfast, immovable, abounding in the Lord's work. But what I so easily forget are the reasons why the command is there.

This verse outlines two reasons for being steadfast and abounding in the work of the Lord. The first is stated at the end of the verse: "knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (emphasis added). In our world of cause and effect (and the pride of my heart), I too often decide that my efforts are only purposeful and used by God when they achieve my predetermined outcome, on my desired timetable. With that mindset, it's easy to get the order of the verse wrong: I take the command as the premise for the promise-rather than the other way around. It's not our steadfastness that gives our labor purpose, it's the Lord's promise that gives us hope to remain steadfast. We are called to be steadfast in our labor, and to trust that God is the One who establishes our work (Ps. 90:17, Prov. 16:3). It is in the Lord, and only in the Lord, that our labors are not in vain.

The second reason is found in the first word of the verse: "Therefore." The word therefore is a concluding word. When we see it used in our Bible, we should look back up the page to recognize the point the author is referring back to. In this instance, Paul spends chapter 15 explaining the confidence we have in the resurrection and the great mystery that finite, mortal man will receive immortality. He then concludes by praising the God who gives us the victory over death through the resurrection of Christ. Because of those great realities, we are commanded to be steadfast, immovable and abounding. How? Simply put, the God who secured us life by defeating death is the God who cannot be thwarted. He will finish what He has begun, because He has secured the final victory. While this truth doesn't make the fight against self-sufficiency or temptation to despair any less difficult, it does give us an anchor of hope in the storm, knowing that our risen Savior will finish what He has begun (Phil. 1:6).

The reality is, when I don't see the results that I was hoping for, my tendency is to give up. But Paul reminds us that because of God's resurrection power, we can not only be steadfast and unwavering, but we can abound in the work God has called us to (see also Gal. 6:6-10). This is not because we summon extra effort and fight harder, but because we joyfully trust in the God who raises the dead to keep His promise and achieve the purposes of His plan through our labors.

What does this mean practically? It means we do what God has called us to with joy, regardless of the results we may or may not see this side of heaven. When you are kind to your coworkers and they still slander you, or you work overtime and are unappreciated, your labor is not in vain. When you patiently discipline your children day-in and day-out, repeating the same response and they still don't listen, your labor is not in vain. When you spend years faithfully raising your child in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and they walk away from the faith, your labor is not in vain. When you patiently endure chronic pain, and it only gets worse, your labor is not in vain. When you hope in the God who raises the dead in the valley of the shadow of death, and the darkness only gets darker, your labor is not in vain. When you count all joy in your suffering, and the trial doesn't go away, your labor is not in vain. And if you remain steadfast and immovable and abound in the work of the Lord all your days and see no fruit this side of heaven, you can hold fast to the promise of God that in the Lord your labor is still never in vain.



In the moments when all hope is fleeting and our efforts seem to be wasted, we can rest in this verse. It is not for us to establish the work, but for God alone. He has promised to do just that, and He will keep His word. And even when we stumble, His mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness is great, and He has won the victory. So we can press on, steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, our labor is not in vain.