May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge (Ruth 2:12)
God is a rewarder! God has said a great deal about rewards. There are more than 100 verses in the Bible containing the noun “reward”, or the verb “to reward”, and there are many more verses that speak about rewards without actually using the word “reward” in them. Your achievement may not be something that men will applaud or be interested in emulating but if you are sincerely love him and seek Him and His glory, He is well pleased and will reward you. He told Abraham “I am thy exceeding great reward” The Word of God mentions various reasons for God rewarding someone. Let me point out some of them in this message.
1. God rewards those who SEEK him
God rewards those who diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 says, ‘he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’ Even the lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). In the book of 2 Chronicles, you can find many examples of God rewarding those who sincerely and diligently sought him. God rewarded King Uzziah with success (2 Chro. 26:5). God rewarded King Asa with rest and peace (2 Chro. 14:7; 15:15). God rewarded King Jehoshaphat with riches and honour (2 Chro. 17:5). Dearly beloved, let us seek the Lord more in the coming days with all our hearts (Jer. 29:13) and receive the blessings he has in store for us.
2. God rewards those who SHOW FORTH his nature
Jesus said, ‘If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect’ (Matthew 5:46-48). God rewards those who practice and exemplify the nature and character of Jesus! It is very easy to love those close to us and bestow favours on our loved ones. It takes the nature of Christ to forgive those who trespass against us, bless those who curse us and do good to those who hate us. It is more than an outward show and display for public witness. It should flow from a Christ like heart. Let us love like Jesus (John 13:34), forgive like Jesus (Col. 3;13; Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60) and walk in the footsteps of Jesus to receive His rewards. Surely there is a reward for the righteous (Psalm 58:11)!
3. God rewards those who SUPPORT his servants
Jesus said, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward” (Matthew 10:40-42). God rewards those who are hospitable towards the true servant of god and welcome, accept and receive the person and his message. God’s servants bearing His News and Messages are ambassadors and representatives of God. Receiving them means you are receiving God. Rejecting, ignoring and spurning them is tantamount to rejecting ignoring and spurning Christ. That is something we can ill afford to do for we may well be found endangering our future and eternal blessings and rewards from God!
4. God rewards those who are SIMPLE in their spiritual disciples
The Bible says in Matthew 6:1-7 that God rewards those who do not make a public display of their charity or show off their spirituality! Many in these modern days continuously make a show of their charitable giving on public media and “boast’ of their good deeds. God is not pleased with all this ostentatious display. It is detestable to Him! We must be simple, sincere and secret and not showy in doing our charitable deeds, in our praying and fasting. When we do like that, our heavenly father will reward us openly (Matthew 6:4,6,18)!
5. God rewards those who SUFFER for him
God rewards those who are persecuted and reviled because of their devotion and dedication to him! In situations where your personal relationship to Christ is odious to others and your declaration of His Great Name is an offence to their sensibilities, your constancy and faithfulness to Christ results in great reward. In Matthew 5:11 and 12 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.’
6. God rewards those who SERVE him
God rewards those who labour in his name. We have been commissioned to bear witness unto Him and are called to be labourers together with Him. We are here to glorify Him, to exalt His name not to make a name for ourselves. Our efforts on His behalf should result in people seeing Him and not us. When we do whatever we do to glorify His name, He will reward us. Paul writes, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:22-24).
Dearly beloved, do you feel that you have laboured in vain and have spent all your strength for nothing. Read Isaiah 49:4. What is due to you is in the LORD’s hand, and your reward is with your God and it is coming! 2 Chronicles 15:7.
At the beginning of this message, I have mentioned the promise that was given to Ruth. God turned things around for Ruth, the Moabite widow, when she believed the Lord and made Him her God. (Ruth 1:16) The Bible tells us that she was given a “full reward” by the Lord when she came under His wings for refuge (Ruth 2:12 NKJV). Not only did He give her protection, He also gave her abundant provision, exceeding favour and a glorious future (Ruth 2:9–17, 3:11, 4:10–13). The Lord will do the same thing to you when you continue to seek him, serve him and stay under his wings! God bless you and reward you richly!
