There is a danger in looking at the rewards God wants us to receive. The danger is the frustration caused in those who want to achieve the results and reap the rewards of a diligent life of faith in the Word of God, but who refuse to live diligently.

There will always be those who will seek the reward and not the rewarder. But that does not change the fact that God gives rewards. And He does so because He knows how we are made. He is aware that the anticipation and expectation of a reward will motivate us to action.

David is a perfect example. He was a man after God's own heart. Yet in 1 Samuel 17:24-25, you will find that when David heard of the rich reward (including the hand in marriage of the king's own daughter), offered to the man who slew Goliath, he stood forth boldly and brought deliverance to Israel.

Certainly David's actions were motivated primarily by his love for God and his people, and a hatred for the offender. But he was also aware of the reward he could expect to receive as a result of those actions.

The widow in 1 Kings 17:13-16 obeyed the prophet Elijah when he instructed her to take her last bit of meal and oil, and prepare him a little cake with it. She was told that if she would obey him, she would not run out of meal or oil. In the midst of famine, such a promise was no doubt a tremendous motivation factor.
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
(Deut. 28:1-2)
The Reward of Diligence
Those who are diligent to do what God has said, will receive the reward for their actions. The blessings of God will come on them and overtake them. The blessings of God do not come automatically. It is the one who aggressively takes hold of God's Word, however, who obtains them.

Remember blind Bartimaeus? He was a beggar. A liability to society. He could not work or support a family. He was good for nothing but to beg alms by the wayside. Jesus passed the place where he sat, but did not stop. When Bartimaeus realized that it was Jesus who has passed, he knew he could receive something. He cried out loudly.

He was aggressive, in spit of the ridicule and opposition of those who stood around him. Because of his diligence and aggressiveness, he received his sight that day. He knew what he could receive. When Jesus asked him what he wanted, he boldly proclaimed, Lord that I might receive my sight (Mark 10:51).

Bartimaeus had boldness, not brazenness. He was confident that Jesus wanted him to see. He knew that God's blessing was not automatic, but that it was obtainable. The desires that God has placed within your spirit, and the goals that He has set for you in His Word, will not be fulfilled automatically. They are, however, obtainable.

There are three points to remember in order to accomplish your God-given desires and goals:
  • Build a strong foundation in you life. Establish yourself on God's Word.
  • Allow yourself to increase one step at a time. Romans 4:12 refers to the steps Abraham took as he followed God. Results do not always appear overnight, but they will come. If you are patient and persistent, you will see the rewards of your diligence.
  • Set your sights high. Let your expectation and hope be developed to the fullest. Dare to expect God's best. Then give Him your best.
Notice 2 Peter 1:5 in The Amplified Bible: "For this very reason, adding your diligence to the divine promises, employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy)...." It is important to realize that diligence and effort must be applied to the promises of God if His rewards are to become a way of life.

Peter goes on to enumerate other things that must be developed: the knowledge of God, self-control, consistency in the Word of God, godliness, brotherly affection and the God kind of love.

It takes determination in the Word of God to cultivate these areas of your life. But as you do, you will experience God's mighty power at work in the different aspects of your life. Jesus taught that the kingdom of God worked in this manner - from within. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Matt. 13:33).

The laws and principles of God's kingdom continue to work in every part of your life, as long as you continue in His Word. Learn how to meditate on God' Word. It will activate ideas within you that will be inspired by God.

Use the tool of speaking in tongues which God has given you. God makes available to every believer a supernatural language to enable him to pray God's perfect will from his spirit.

As you meditate upon and yield yourself to God's Word, you will find yourself praying in the Spirit for yourself, and also praying God's perfect will for others. It is a precious gift from God to build you up.

Diligently attend to matters involving your money. If you will follow God's directions concerning finances, you will find the wisdom of God and the blessings of God will come upon them. Remain in a giving attitude. God will direct you to give continually. But He also show you how to receive. He will adjust your thinking to correspond to His thoughts.

Proverbs 13:4 says, The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. God is preparing you to increase in His abundance. You cooperate with Him through your willingness to follow Him.

Then you begin to think as He does. Proverbs 21:5 says this: The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness. Your thoughts are seeds. The greater your thoughts become, the more seed you are planting into your life. Then those seeds of plenty produce a great harvest. That harvest is the reward of diligence.

Source: A Guide to Successfully Attaining Your God-Given Goals
by Dennis Burke.
Excerpt permission granted by Dennis Burke Ministries