Written by Anna Lee Cocks, CBN SA Intern
The work we do on earth is meant to glorify God, and a desire can be for our work to have a lasting impact on people and throughout time. Here are three considerations to keep in mind when planning out ways to have a sustainable impact on the world:
Walk it out with God
How do we continue advancing the Kingdom and not grow weary? The first Scripture that comes to mind is Matthew 11:28-30. If we want to avoid becoming weary, we are encouraged to go before Jesus and take His yoke upon ourselves and follow His purposes for our lives. To continue advancing the Kingdom, we must be walking in the will of the Father – with the Father. When we walk in His purpose for our lives, when we walk with Him, and when we walk with Kingdom determination, opportunity opens for God to sustain us because we are doing things in alignment with His will and power. When we obey and walk with God, all things are possible (Matt 19:26). Yes, faith is required, but real lasting impact is completely possible with God, because He promises that, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (Phil 4:13).
Bringing sustained impact through community
I was thinking about the idea of lasting impact, and I thought about the early church in Acts and how they sustained themselves. How did they carry on with their mission for so long? They had a community of people around them. They had networks of churches, elders, brothers and sisters that they met up with in different places. They walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31). They also weren’t doing the mission of spreading the Gospel alone – it was like a big God-family affair. Finally, the Bible says that when they gathered, they exhorted, encouraged and strengthened one another (Acts 11:23).
“Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,”
(Acts 14:22)
The disciples experienced many hardships on their mission, and Jesus reminds us, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33). Putting up our hand to walk with God and bring His Kingdom to earth is not going to be easy, but we should always keep our focus on Him (Phil 3:14) and remember we are never alone.
Do it in love
Why do we stumble? Why do we burn out? One reason could be because we lose sight of our first love.
“And you have persevered and have patience and have laboured for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love,”
(Revelations 2:3-4)
In wanting to have a sustained impact on the work we do on earth we must walk in obedience to God’s calling, we must walk in fellowship with others, and, probably most importantly, we must do it with zealous love for the Triune God. Paul reminds us, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing,” (1 Cor 13:2). If we want to create and do things that have a sustained impact, we must first have a heart position that is completely in love with Jesus – and then from there we move.
