Matthew 6:4 So that your giving may be in secret: and thy Father which sees what is done in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
I came across this very powerful story about one of the most influential men of God in my life, D.L.Moody, in a book named A Call to Excellence by Gary Inrig.
A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants.
Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world’s only famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.
When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never knew by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret.
Wow. I’m humbled, how about you? Many of us want to be great ministers for the Lord. We want our names and our works to be remembered. But let’s never forget the true ministry of the Lord. Not only would have Jesus shined those shoes in secret, He would have returned to wash their feet too!
Have you been asking the Lord to use you? Here you have it! Shine some one’s dingy shoes, give a gift to someone in need, love on someone hard to love — but don’t tell the world — do it in secret! You can be sure that the Lord sees these things! And He will open up more opportunities for you to do even greater things for Him! Guess what — there’s so much work to be done!
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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As a pastor who has traveled extensively and also met and ministered to believers from all walks, backgrounds, and denominations, I feel I have a unique perspective on what is happening in the world and among the Body of Christ.
As I look at the big picture, I have noticed that since the recent war broke out in Israel in October of 2023, several ministries that have played a key role in Israel’s spiritual revival have come under intense attack.
So often when I’m counseling someone, he speaks of his life as a life of struggle and even defeat. But what is our true spiritual reality? The Bible describes the enemy as ALREADY defeated! We who are walking as pilgrims in this world, fighting on a daily basis, are fighting a defeated enemy. Let that sink in! He has already been defeated … even though throughout our entire lives we’re in combat with the enemy of our souls.
People read this verse, and think God is telling them to be passive — to overlook what happened. That is not a bad thing — but it isn’t exactly what Yeshua (Jesus) was saying. Turning the other cheek is not about being passive. It’s about being active! So active that it actually confounds your enemy! Turning the other cheek is about taking an action so revolutionary, so shocking, so out of the ordinary that it shocks everyone around. It confounds the world — and can also change it!
In the 4th century lived a Christian named Telemachus, in a remote village, tending his garden, and spending much time in prayer. One day, he believed he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome, so he obeyed, setting out on foot. Some weeks later, weary from his journey, he arrived in Rome about the time of a great festival.
Nature provides us with an illustration that closely parallels the insidious tactics employed by our adversary. According to scientists, Arctic polar bears feed almost entirely on seals. To enjoy such a meal, they sometimes resort to a cunning bit of trickery.
Whew! What must the disciples have felt back then as they saw the waves crashing against their boat? They we’re being swayed from side to side in the deep dark sea. They were afraid for their lives! But our Lord was there all along. He just wanted them to trust.
One of my heroes of the faith, Watchman Nee, once said something profound about entering the rest of God. He said, “Carnal Christians crave works; yet amid many labors, they are unable to maintain calm in their spirit. They cannot fulfill God’s orders quietly as can the spiritual believers… their hearts are governed by outward matters. Being “distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40) is the characteristic of the work of any soulish believer. They have not yet entered the rest of God.”