Sometimes we miss the point of the plod. God made the plod. Sharing Christ, living for Christ, exalting Christ in our daily work takes faithful, patient diligence. It’s a slow but rewarding work. Today I’m sharing how we can prove faithful in the plod.
Consider supporting the podcast in one of these ways:
-
Give $5 monthly on Patreon to the SPF Podcast and get access to extra resources. Learn more at patreon.com/sheprovesfaithful.com
-
Try Audible for a month for FREE and get TWO FREE audiobooks that you can keep forever! When you try Audible (even if you do not sign up), the SPF Podcast is directly supported. More info here: https://amzn.to/2CZLh41
-
Check out my Amazon Storefront – it’s full of all my recommended resources and categorized for ease of finding just what you are looking for! Plus with every click and/or purchase, you support the podcast! See the store here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/sheprovesfaithful
-
Love taking care of your family? Try Earthley Wellness Products for your skin, body, hair, and herbal remedies! https://www.earthley.com/ref/lauren.hlushak/
-
Leave a review on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-she-proves-faithful/id1116242133?mt=2
Faithful Plodding
In the spheres of our duties as Christian women, there is a lot of plodding. In motherhood, in being a wife, in domesticity, in being a servant of the Lord. Every day there is plodding – being patient, diligent, and persevering. All the faithful little steps add up over time and they get us somewhere.
Plodding means slow, it means patience and diligence and that seems burdensome these days. Especially when we live in a culture of immediate. And a culture that is set on results. The destination is the goal, and how quickly you can get there.
We need to watch where that influence of immediate results might seep into our hearts and homes.
Because the plod involves patience and perseverance, we can sometimes be tempted to wish the plod away. Culture may say hurry over the hurdles, but we as christians can find the sweetness in them. It’s living out Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, – Because we are Christians we can give thanks always and for everything.
We grow in the plod. When there are sufferings in the plod, it produces endurance. That means we can keep going. We don’t have to quit. We have endurance. And that built up endurance in our being makes us ready and capable for the next thing. And that endurance gives way to character – character like faithfulness and self control, goodness, kindness, forgiveness, contentment, humility, love, joy – and that character produces a hope in us and that hope does not disappoint because it’s rooted in a sure expectation of God’s love and grace.
Sometimes we miss the point of the plod.
God made the plod.
He made gardens grow slow.
He made weeds grow fast.
He made babies need their mothers milk. . . .a lot.
He made toddlers need attention and indpendence at the same time.
He made us need to learn to read.
He made us need rest.
He made people to need us.
He made us to need food everyday and the people who need us need food every day – and snacks.
He made us to need Him.
Wishing the plod away or giving up being faithful because we are not seeing desired results – we are missing the point of the plod.
The plod is about faithfulness and trajectory. Where are you going? It’s not about the speed. It’s about the destination. It’s not about all that you can’t do. It’s about what God is asking you to do today. It’s some physical things but it’s also a lot of heart things. Making breakfast . . . with a thankful heart. Cleaning dishes . . . with a happy heart. Cleaning up shredding toilet paper in your independent and also attention given toddler’s room for the 13th time . . .with a cheerful heart.
Our trajectory is God’s glory through God’s grace.
He gave us the plod and there are difficult challenges and great enjoyments. There are meaningful sufferings and fulfilling memories. But it’s all for his glory and to hear the words “well done, good and faithful servant.”
The plod is what creates traditions, and memories, and character. It creates a toughness and a tenderness in us.
I will leave us with a little wisdom from dear old Charles Spurgeon from his sermon called “Our Motto” from Ephesians 6:7 “With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”
“Grace makes us the servants of God while still we are the servants of men: it enables us to do the business of heaven while we are attending to the business of earth: it sanctifies the common duties of life by showing us how to perform them in the light of heaven. The love of Christ makes the lowliest acts sublime. As the sunlight brightens a landscape and sheds beauty over the commonest scene, so does the presence of the Lord Jesus. The spirit of consecration renders the offices of domestic servitude as sublime as the worship which is presented upon the sea of glass before the eternal throne, by spirits to whom the courts of heaven are their familiar home.”
Resources
Charles Spurgeon Sermon: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/our-motto/#flipbook/
The Magic Thread story: http://www.davidgaultiere.com/the-magic-thread/
(amazon links are affiliate links)
