“Well done my good and faithful servant.”
Luke 19:17
Every morning, we awake with the list of things we know we must accomplish for the day. Then, if we have time, we can add to that list the things we want to do. By the time we have completed every task on both lists, we are left thoroughly exhausted and spent. Certainly, we may feel a small amount of gratefulness or pride at achieving that which we set out to do, but we are still tired. Along the way, we hope for some sort of acknowledgement that our efforts were not in vain.
This was exactly the case with the man who gave his servants money to invest as he traveled out of the country. Each morning he was gone, they woke, reviewed their goal for what they hoped to accomplish, and set about working on it. They had their instructions from their master and worked to achieve his will. When he returned, he visited individually with each of the servants, rewarding those who had done remarkably well, praising those who honored his word, and punishing those who did nothing.
We have a rare opportunity in our lives. Like the servants in the story, we know the goal our Father has for each of us. He is clear in His hopes and desires for our lives and has given each of us gifts to achieve those goals. But many mornings when we wake and prepare for our day, we do not take the time to stop and determine if our ‘to do’ list matches His. This is opportunity. If we are in tune with His will, and seek to prioritize that in the midst of our own goals, we will be exactly where He wants us to be. And at the end of the day, we can expect to hear Him say to us, “well done, my good and faithful servant.”