Day 349: Revelation 3:7–8

Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close (v. 8).

Scholars almost unanimously agree that the reference in Revelation 2:8 to the “little” or “limited” strength of the church in Philadelphia was not to spiritual strength, or Christ would not have placed the characteristic in context with such commendation. Christ never commends spiritual weakness. Rather, He views weakness as an opportunity to discover a divine strength beyond our imagination (2 Cor. 12:9–10). Bible commentators believe this referred to their diminutive size and small visible impact, to the fact that lower, less influential classes comprised the church in this city.

In our numbers-oriented society, we can hardly overestimate when we see ourselves as ineffective. I believe outright opposition can often be easier to bear than the thought of futility or incompetence. And don’t think for a moment the enemy won’t do everything he can to convince you that your efforts in Christ’s name are in vain. Nothing is more destructive than feelings of uselessness and worthlessness. That’s precisely why the enemy seeks every avenue to fuel and perpetuate them.

Beloved, each of us has a God-given need to matter. You are not self-centered and vain because you have that need; you are human. Sure, the things you and I do with this need can become extremely vain and self-centered, but the need itself is sacred. Fragrant flowers don’t need someone to smell them to keep blooming. Lions don’t kill their prey for significance—they’re simply hungry. Only man yearns to matter.

God acknowledged this need immediately following our creation and before our fall into sin. Notice how He granted purpose to humans in each of these scriptural examples.

• He gave the assignment to be fruitful, fill the earth, and have dominion (Gen. 1:28).

• He gave Adam the charge to care for the garden (Gen. 2:15).

• He commissioned Adam to name the animals (Gen. 2:19).

God could have created the beasts of the field naturally subservient to humans. Instead, He acknowledged our God-given need to matter by telling us to rule over them and subdue them. Furthermore, God could have made the garden of Eden self-maintaining. Instead, He appointed Adam to work it and take care of it. God could have created the animals with names, but He knew Adam could use the challenge and the satisfaction that naming them would bring. In the same way, Eve received a purpose that granted significance. No one else was a suitable helper to Adam.

The Father desires for each of our lives to matter—to bring forth much fruit. The small, seemingly insignificant band of believers in Philadelphia may have been blind to the fruit of their own efforts, but Christ found them beyond rebuke. I think the key word in His commendation is the description He used in verse 10 for how they endured: “patiently.” So often we are tempted to give up before the harvest comes.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven” (hcsb). God promised, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease” (Gen. 8:22 hcsb). Though far less predictable than these natural seasons, we experience seasons spiritually as well. The church in Philadelphia had been in the seedtime season without a large harvest probably longer than they wished—yet they continued to endure patiently.

Do you happen to be frustrated by what appears to be a small return on much effort in a ministry opportunity? Keep in mind that God not only allows long seasons of seedtime but also sometimes appoints them to enhance the quality of eventual harvest. At times He actively tests our faithfulness in smaller things to see if we can handle bigger things. I hesitate to make this point, because “big” is not the goal; Christ revealed is the goal. However, if a high-volume ministry is one way God chooses to reveal His Son, those to whom He temporarily appoints them by His grace (1 Pet. 4:10) could undoubtedly describe countless appointments to small and frustrating “opportunities” along the way. In retrospect, most now recognize these as crucial tests.

I can remember pouring my heart into preparing several discipleship courses when only two or three people showed up. I sensed God asking me, “What are you going to do now? Cancel the class? Or give them no less than you would give if twenty-five people were here, eager to finish out the semester?” I am certain those were not only precious opportunities; they were tests. I also believe He tested me to see whether I would esteem the opportunity to teach Mother’s Day Out or four-year-olds in Sunday school. Both extended the profound opportunity to mark young lives for eternity, yet some would be foolish enough to deem them unimportant.

Thankfully, we obviously don’t have to be a genius or particularly gifted to pass God’s tests because I certainly would have failed. God is primarily looking for faithfulness to fulfill whatever duty He has placed before us. He formed us to seek lives of purpose and, for those of us who follow His lead, to find them ultimately in Him alone.