When Your Efforts Go Unnoticed

There are days when it feels like my efforts go completely unnoticed.

It doesn’t matter where we’ve gone, what I’ve tried, or how many errands were run. Someone’s mood is less than desirable. The one thing not accomplished or that was missed on the shopping list is the one thing being talked about. And it seems to get bigger…overtaking everything else.

We tend to focus on the negative, don’t we?

The one thing that didn’t work out instead of all the things that did.

The item we would like to have, ignoring all that we do have.

The unfinished work versus the completed tasks.

On those days, I feel like my efforts don’t matter. Why don’t others see how I’ve tried to make something work out the way they hoped?

My feeling of accomplishment dissipates and I find myself frustrated and aggravated. I’m less encouraged to try so hard again…or at all.

But, despite how it looks, my efforts are noticed—by the One who sees it all.

Those around me may miss it, but God doesn’t. God knows how I try. He sees my labor, even when things don’t go right.

And maybe that’s all that matters.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Colossians 3:23 NLT

Working for the Lord…that puts everyday into a different perspective, doesn’t it?

As humans, our moods fluctuate—constantly. What we see around us is looked at through our first-person vision…am I happy? Is that what I wanted? Was that done the way I would have done it?

Thanks be to God—He doesn’t change! The Lord is constant. He is the same today as He was yesterday, and will be tomorrow. And the way He sees me doesn’t depend on His mood, or how a situation turned out.

There will be days when everything I’ve tried is not enough. My attempts and good intentions will go unnoticed by everyone but God.

So, I’ll shift my focus to Him, and work as though I’m working for the Lord, instead of for people.

And, at the same time, I know how it feels to have my efforts unseen by those around me. So, I will try to notice the efforts of others—how they’ve tried and worked towards something, even when the results are not what I hoped for.