My Story Your Glory - an Eight-Day Reading Plan by Matthew WestSample

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant!

My double album, My Story Your Glory, was released recently, and I’m so excited to share all twenty-two of the songs with you. It’s been a very exciting time! But if I’m being honest, there are mixed emotions beneath the surface that threaten to steal the excitement and joy of the accomplishment of releasing a new project or song or book, or anything I do.

I get anxious, nervous, stressed out, and even fearful. ‘Should I have written one more song?’ ‘What if people don’t like the music?’ ‘What if nobody buys my record?’ ‘What if they say, “it’s not as good as his old stuff?”’ ‘What if no one cares?’ These are some of the thoughts swirling around in my brain. But I’ve been asking the Lord to help me shift my focus. I’m hopeful today’s message can help you do the same.

Let’s look at Jesus’ parable of the talents. In the New Testament, a “talent” was a large sum of money. A man going on a journey trusted three of his servants with his possessions. One servant was given five talents, another two, and a third was given one. Two of the servants doubled the man’s wealth by the time he returned. But the servant who was given one talent dug a hole and buried his master’s money to hide it. To the ones who chose not to hide what they had been given, their 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! (Matthew 25:21)”

Here's a question: What are you doing with the “talents” God has given you? Are you doing what God has called you to do to the best of your ability? Are you seeking to honor him with your life? If so, then you are like the servant who doubled the master’s wealth, and you, too, can hear him saying, “Well done!” You can leave the results of your efforts up to Him. Just be faithfully obedient to Him. Don’t dig a hole and bury your talents! This is how to live the kind of story that brings God glory. Be faithful with what He has given you, and now “come and share your master’s happiness!”

DO SOMETHING:

1. What are some of your “talents?”
2. Do you beat yourself up for not doing enough, or are you sharing in your master’s happiness?
3. How might you be digging a hole and burying your talents, and how can you be more like the first two servants in the story?