Have you ever had one of those days? The one where you tried to do the right thing, and it backfired? You held the door for someone, only to have one slammed in your face. You bought a stranger a coffee, and five minutes later spilled yours all over your lap. You were kind to someone you love, and they were unkind in return. You did things God’s way, and the world laughed.
On those days, it’s easy to wonder why I am even doing this anyway? Why bother doing the right thing? And I totally get it. Because there are plenty of examples of selfish people getting everything they want and selfless people getting, well, less. The world offers quick returns on momentary pleasures, while God’s economy rewards faithfulness. Righteousness is a long-term investment, a slow-growing fruit. Maybe that’s because it produces things that will last forever.
If you’re a believer, you’re in the process of being transformed into the image of God, who is fundamentally right at the very core of His being. He always does the right thing and cannot possibly do anything other than the right thing. That’s wonderful news for us because it means we can trust God with our lives. He doesn’t have suspect motives. Instead, He’s promised that He’s continually and actively using every situation, circumstance, and relationship to accomplish what will result in good for us (Romans 8:28). Yes, all of them. Even the hard ones.
Never underestimate what God will do with one righteous person who is committed to Him. Noah was “a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth” (Genesis 6:9). Because of his close relationship with God, he was spared from the flood. The ark he built became the vessel that saved his entire family (Genesis 6:18). When Abraham obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland, he brought along “his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth – his livestock and all the people who had joined his household” (Genesis 12:5). He followed God, who led them all to the Promised Land.
Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho who threw her lot in with the God of Israel. Because of her faith, her entire family was saved when Jericho was destroyed (Joshua 6:25). The Lord shook a Philippian jail to its foundations with an earthquake, and moved the heart of the jailer to belief. He brought Paul and Silas home, where “they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household… He and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God” (Acts 16:32,34).
These people were acting on faith. That doesn’t mean they were perfect or free of doubt. It doesn’t mean the path was easy. But they chose God and believed that what He said was true even when everything they could see seemed to contradict it. And that faith made a way of salvation, a path to safety, for those they loved.
When it comes down to it, there’s really only ever been one truly righteous person and that was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And just look what He accomplished – He saved us all.
So if you’re weary and worn out and having one of those days, don’t give up. What you do matters. What you believe matters. Not just for you, but also for those around you. You are the light, the good, that God continues to send out into the world to rescue those who are perishing in darkness.