There often seems to be a disconnect between what people hoped to achieve and their actual accomplishments. This gap is the cause of many mid-life crisis, as well as a thousand other smaller examples of discontentment. Even when our aim is godly, when we hope to accomplish much for the sake of God’s Kingdom, dissatisfaction with what we were able to do compared to what we wanted to do can slowly and destructively creep in.
It may be that sometimes this uneasiness is caused by God stirring our souls to move beyond what is comfortable in to a new area of service or ministry. However, it seems that more often then not this restlessness occurs, not when our eyes are on God, but when they are firmly fixated on us. As much as we might couch our discord in biblical terms and with lofty aspirations, the truth is that the reason we feel ill at ease is because of what we expected for our lives, not God. We look at the gifts God has given us, and undoubtedly compare them to the talents and abilities of others, and assume that we can accomplish more than our humble achievements reveal. We want to be used in mighty ways and while we might say that this is for the sake of God’s Kingdom, more often than not, it is for the sake of ours.
When we are faced with this unsettling situation, it is important to remember that God did not have to use us at all to accomplish His purposes. Instead of being discontent with the fact that our reach may not be as far or our ministry as well-known as we would have liked, we should be grateful that God chose to use us at all for the purposes of eternity. He has the power and the ability to accomplish everything He wants to on this Earth, but instead of doing it without our involvement, He choose to prepare good works for us to do (Eph. 2:10). We are only able to do anything of worth because of Him. Instead of complaining that our lofty aspirations were not achieved, we should be thankful that we are able to do anything that has eternal significance.
This call to gratefulness should not be seen as an excuse to be complacent. We should work with diligence and commitment for the sake of God’s Kingdom. But it does mean that if we are doing so, if we are pouring out our lives for Him as Christ poured out His life for us, than we need to leave the results up to God (see Phil. 2:5-18). Our renown may not be great on Earth, but what we are striving for is renown in Heaven. Hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” will be greater than any commendation we could receive on Earth.