Quiet Acts of Obedience (Part 3): Praised
Last summer, I read the book Risen Motherhood by Emily Jensen & Laura Wifler with my moms’ study group. While reading reminders of God’s truths, the following sentence on page 37 stood out, “All our quiet acts of obedience will be seen, rewarded, and praised for the glory of God.” What hope this is that the silent choices we make daily to honor God are not lost or forgotten.
In part one of this three-part series, we looked at how the God who created us is omnipresent and omniscient, allowing Him to see all our quiet acts of obedience. In part two of this series, we further examined how God will reward those who are obedient to Him, which gives us hope for both today and for the future. Now, in the third and final part of this series, we will look at how our actions will be praised for the glory of God.
Part 3: All Our Quiet Acts of Obedience will be Praised
Praise is something many of us seek, either intentionally or unintentionally. We start receiving praise from a young age, such as when we do something independently for the first time or when we accomplish something important. As we grow older, more opportunities arise for us to receive recognition from others, such as through academic or athletic competitions. While praise itself is not “bad”, for many, it is easy to chase after this temporary praise and overlook receiving the highest praise, which comes from the Lord. If you have “people pleasing” tendencies, it can be even more challenging to recognize that man’s praise is short-lived while the Lord’s praise sustains. It is far too easy for praise and pride to become intertwined, resulting in our seeking of man’s approval instead of God’s.
This is not anything new – thousands of years ago, the religious leaders did this with Jesus Himself. In John 12:42-43, we read “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they love human praise more than praise from God.” Even when Jesus was physically on Earth, man’s sinful nature got in the way of people making choices that honored God, preventing them from receiving praise from their Creator.
Later in the book of Romans, we see how Paul encouraged the Christians in Rome that praise should come from God and not man. “No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.” (Romans 2:28-29)
Paul also cautions the church at Galatia about being mindful of the desired source of their praise. Galatians 1:10 shares, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Fortunately, in Risen Motherhood, the authors guide our attention away from receiving praise from others and back towards focusing on the Lord. The authors reassure us that our quiet moments of obedience in which we strive to honor God will not only be seen and rewarded by Him, but they will also be praised for His glory. With all the small moments each day in which we quietly serve others, this is quite encouraging!
Because God is so incredible and we are called to praise Him, it can be challenging to think that God also praises us for His glory. However, throughout the Bible, we see several instances in which it is mentioned that God offers praise.
At the beginning of the Old Testament, as the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses shared several speeches with the people. In his speeches, Moses reminded the nation of their covenant relationship with God and encouraged them to live a God-honoring life. As a result of honoring God, the people would be praised and set apart from other nations. Deuteronomy 26:17-19 shares, “You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.”
Later in the New Testament, we see additional moments in which the Lord offers praise. In Jesus’ Parable of the Bags of Gold found in the book of Matthew, the master praised two of his servants who increased the value of what they were given. We see in both Matthew 25:21 and Matthew 25:23, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Here, the master praises the servants for maximizing the gifts that they had been given. This is an example of how God will praise us for being faithful with the gifts we have received from Him.
In the book of 1 Corinthians, we see how we will receive praise for the motivations behind our words and actions. Paul shares with the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.”
During the times in which it feels like your choices and actions go unnoticed and unappreciated, remember that our omnipresent and omniscient God has not forgotten you. He sees your motivations and efforts to serve Him and will both praise and reward you. It is so easy to get caught up in receiving recognition from others when really, our focus should shift to serving the Lord. As Christ’s followers, we can rest assured that our quiet acts of obedience will be seen, rewarded, and praised for the glory of God.
