When You Are Accomplishing Nothing, God is At Work

Do you ever feel defeated? You are giving 100% but you still come up short at the end of the day? Your day flies by without accomplishing much of anything. It’s easy to feel like something is wrong with me. Why can’t I just pull myself together and do more, be more? After all everyone else seems to be accomplishing so much.

Yesterday was one of those days. The day flew by, and was filled with many tasks. At the end of the day I was tired and didn’t have much more to give. I had that feeling of defeat because I truly could not think of anything I had accomplished. That spiraled into looking at all the areas of my life where I am currently unsatisfied. And ended up in just plain defeat.

Maybe you have been there too lately?

And if you are perhaps I might encourage you in the same way I was encouraged this morning.

After talking with my husband about how I was feeling. He sent me a devotional last night. That really spoke to my feeling of not accomplishing much. Here’s what it said.

“A true knowledge of Christ and union with Christ, with all that that means, will make us go to work in entirely the opposite way from that in which we have been accustomed to go…. To go on with God and have nothing to show for it, never to be able to have the work written up in the papers, to publish no reports, no statistics, and yet to know in your heart of hearts that, although it is hidden, something is going on, and that you cannot do otherwise than you are doing, is far from being a path of ease to the flesh.”

T. Austin Sparks from the Meaning of Divine Life

Cleaning toilets, paying bills, showing patience and love to those around us. Don’t always make us feel like we are accomplishing much. But often times it’s ordinary work that God uses for His purposes.

Much like us, I cannot help but think about how Jesus’s disciples must have felt when Jesus was being led to the cross. They had left their careers, families and everything to follow Jesus. No He was going to die. I am sure mixed with feelings of deep sorrow, they felt quite defeated.

Not yet having a full understanding of how the cross was actually Christ’s greatest victory. I am sure they felt defeated. As if they had not accomplished anything and everything was wasted.

On a lesser scale I wonder if my feelings of defeat are similar to how the disciples felt. In all my attempts to gain a sense of accomplishment in my day, am I neglecting to reflect on the greater work God is doing in me?

When we are united with Christ, we are also united with him in his death. We don’t often think about this on a daily basis. But at times this death may look like a whole lot of accomplishing nothing to the naked eye. Because faithfully loving others, caring for a family and a home, and the other things I am called to currently, is not usually headline material.

So dear friend, if you feel defeated today. Perhaps Christ is drawing you to Himself. And perhaps you already are sensing more of what He could be doing in your life.

Don’t look at social media, the world around you or even in the mirror to find your sense of accomplishment. Look to Christ and His life that is hidden in you. Just maybe He is accomplishing a whole lot more than you could ever think or imagine!

If you enjoyed this post you might also find this one on how God uses interruptions in our lives!