Your Labor is Not in Vain in the Lord
by Maria (Hickey) Aitchison
“ . . . but let him who boasts boast
about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who
exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I
delight,” . . . declares the LORD.
—Jeremiah 9: 24
My eyes filled with tears as I read the words, written a few weeks ago
in my journal, vignette after vignette of my walk with the Lord. As I
sat reading, in my spirit I was prostrate before God, speechless in
worship and gratitude.
Why? Because I saw His glory. In every vignette, God used the circumstance, trial, question, or unmerited blessing, to reveal Himself, test me, ask me, “Do you hear Me now? Will you follow Me if it means this . . . ? If it means that . . . ?” When I thought it was me calling out to God, I see now it was really God calling out to me.
Reading, I am struck by how much God used the disciplines and challenges built into my life by Navigator staff 30 years ago, questions asked to help me apply the basics of discipleship to my life and challenge the assumptions my life was built on.
• Was I seeking God’s will for my life—in my engagement? Had I settled it as a lordship issue? Then, when He led us apart, I cried out to God in pain and brokenness, often falling asleep on my knees, face down on my open Bible.
• Did I believe God for a husband, perfect for me? Over time, knowing God better, I dared to believe and committed myself to wait, or stay single. To this day I am breathless when I think of what I could have missed—God’s very best for me—if I had not been challenged to give this area of my life to Him, to endure the thorough test.
• Did I believe that God was sovereign in all my circumstances? In the injustice of a job loss years later? In my brokenness and loss resulting from it? I sought Him intensely, clung to Him, and experienced more deeply what Jesus is like. Humbling myself, not clinging to my rights, trying to obey God even if it meant humiliation and loss, knowing it was His will for me. And now I see how He used it to finally pry my hands off my career, to free me for deeper adventures with Him.
Through countless other questions, God framed the to and fro of my life, developing and growing my childlike faith into a deeply rooted certainty because I know Him and His ways. I have experienced Him over and over. He is the goal and prize of my life.
Why write this? So I can glorify Him and tell of His goodness. To tell you that in your ministry of making disciples and laborers, some sheep might seem slow, unsteady—moving on before you see the fruit of your labor. That was me, 30 years ago. It must have seemed like I didn’t get it, but I thank God for you every day. The basic lessons you poured into my life are riches unspeakable to me now.
It is Him who keeps us. But your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Thank you.
Maria Aitchison was discipled by Nuke Kee and Violet Shim in a collegiate ministry and by JoAnna Cinanni in a single women’s ministry, in Canada—a long time ago! Semi-retired from the corporate world, she now leads a group of ten Bible study leaders, who together minister to approximately 120 women. She has served as President of the Board for a local faith-based shelter for the poor and homeless in her area. She is happily married and has a son, 21, and a daughter, 16, and currently lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Her e-mail is mariaaitchison@yahoo.com.
—Jeremiah 9: 24
My eyes filled with tears as I read the words, written a few weeks ago
in my journal, vignette after vignette of my walk with the Lord. As I
sat reading, in my spirit I was prostrate before God, speechless in
worship and gratitude. Why? Because I saw His glory. In every vignette, God used the circumstance, trial, question, or unmerited blessing, to reveal Himself, test me, ask me, “Do you hear Me now? Will you follow Me if it means this . . . ? If it means that . . . ?” When I thought it was me calling out to God, I see now it was really God calling out to me.
Reading, I am struck by how much God used the disciplines and challenges built into my life by Navigator staff 30 years ago, questions asked to help me apply the basics of discipleship to my life and challenge the assumptions my life was built on.
• Was I seeking God’s will for my life—in my engagement? Had I settled it as a lordship issue? Then, when He led us apart, I cried out to God in pain and brokenness, often falling asleep on my knees, face down on my open Bible.
• Did I believe God for a husband, perfect for me? Over time, knowing God better, I dared to believe and committed myself to wait, or stay single. To this day I am breathless when I think of what I could have missed—God’s very best for me—if I had not been challenged to give this area of my life to Him, to endure the thorough test.
• Did I believe that God was sovereign in all my circumstances? In the injustice of a job loss years later? In my brokenness and loss resulting from it? I sought Him intensely, clung to Him, and experienced more deeply what Jesus is like. Humbling myself, not clinging to my rights, trying to obey God even if it meant humiliation and loss, knowing it was His will for me. And now I see how He used it to finally pry my hands off my career, to free me for deeper adventures with Him.
Through countless other questions, God framed the to and fro of my life, developing and growing my childlike faith into a deeply rooted certainty because I know Him and His ways. I have experienced Him over and over. He is the goal and prize of my life.
Why write this? So I can glorify Him and tell of His goodness. To tell you that in your ministry of making disciples and laborers, some sheep might seem slow, unsteady—moving on before you see the fruit of your labor. That was me, 30 years ago. It must have seemed like I didn’t get it, but I thank God for you every day. The basic lessons you poured into my life are riches unspeakable to me now.
It is Him who keeps us. But your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Thank you.
Maria Aitchison was discipled by Nuke Kee and Violet Shim in a collegiate ministry and by JoAnna Cinanni in a single women’s ministry, in Canada—a long time ago! Semi-retired from the corporate world, she now leads a group of ten Bible study leaders, who together minister to approximately 120 women. She has served as President of the Board for a local faith-based shelter for the poor and homeless in her area. She is happily married and has a son, 21, and a daughter, 16, and currently lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Her e-mail is mariaaitchison@yahoo.com.
