Bible Study

Don’t waste the wait!

“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”  Matthew 25:23

Man! How many times have you thought about how great it will be one day to hear those words from the lips of Jesus… “well done, good and faithful servant”! Do you know the “Parable of the Loaned Money”? Here, read it! But, read it carefully! I’m going to point out a few things at the end and see if you caught them…

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:14-30

Man I get goose bumps just reading this parable and typing up this post… Here are a few things I want to point out…

  1. Just like this master, Jesus is coming back one day.
  2. v.14 He gave to his “servants”… “his” goods… Everything we have, God has given to us. Do you see yourself as the master or the servant? Do you believe that what you have is yours? Or do you understand that it was entrusted to you by God?
  3. v.15 tells us that each person got a different amount. They each got based on their “ability”.
  4. v16-18 tell us what each servant did with what his master gave him…
  5. The first two servants went out and used what had been given and it grew! The one that was given the two talents didn’t sulk and complain about what the one with the five talents was given. Our master knows exactly what our abilities are and he gives us exactly what we need to succeed. But, we have to put the work in.
  6. v19 says that the master returned and he wanted to know what they had done with what he had given them. They were each responsible for what they did while he was gone. When Jesus returns, we will all give an account of our faithfulness with what he has given each of us. It’s not about what someone else has or what they have done with theirs. It’s about you! It’s not a comparison game! What have you done with the talents that God has given you? Have you utilized them faithfully?
  7. Don’t be like the third servant. Don’t hide your talent. Don’t be so scared of failure that you never get out and do anything for God. I heard a preacher say one time” If you could do anything for God, and you knew you would’t fail, what would it be?”… Well that stopped me dead in my tracks!
  8. Aren’t you excited to hear “well done, good and faithful servant”? But realize also that if you haven’t done well, you won’t hear those words. The servant that hid his portion and did nothing with it… He heard “thou wicked and slothful servant”! How terrible will that be to hear?

I went through all of that to say this…

Wherever you are right now. That’s exactly where God wants you. He has put you there for a purpose. He has a need for you right where you are. SAHM… Working mom… Empty nest mom… Homeschool mom… Right now, this is your season. Love it! Embrace it! Find your purpose in it! Don’t waste your time. Don’t waste your wait! When the Lord comes back you’ll give an account of what you did with what he has given you. Keep praying about it! When he’s ready for you to move on to the next phase, you bet he’ll open all the right doors.

Do you want to hear “well done, good and faithful servant”? Well, get to it! Don’t look at what Sister Cindy has and think, “well if I had that I wouldn’t be this miserable”. Or ” If I had that I could be happy”. Or “If I had what Cindy had I’d be able to do more for God”. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! You have been given everything you need. Enjoy this season. Thank him for his provision and pray about how he wants YOU to use your talents!

Study up on the life of Joseph if you need a little prospective! 😉