Day 165 "Trusting God can never be considered failure; failing to always is."

Day 165 Matthew 20:1-16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” I absolutely love this parable. It is by far one of my favorite illustrations of the sovereignty of God. Of the many lessons we can glean from this story, my favorite is the final sentence, even though I'm not sure as to why I feel this way. It may be that this final sentence is often overlooked and rarely preached upon or maybe there is no deep reason; it could be that I just like the way it sounds. Either way, let’s look at it together. First, the word “called” in this passage means, literally, "to be called" or to be asked to do something. In this case, the owner of the vineyard called upon various individuals to help him gather his harvest; he offered to pay each person a fair wage. You see, a denarius was a typical wage for a day's labor; therefore, those who came to work first agreed to a fair day's wages, as did the remaining workers who were promised "what was right." You see, all were chosen to receive a fair wage according to what was right in the mind of the master, not according to their own will. The men who came first agreed to a price; however, those who came later placed their trust in the master to be fair and honest. Those who were first received a fair wage, while those who trusted the master received the same wage for less effort. Now, before we build a new theology upon trusting the master and expecting him to respond to our plans, we must finish looking at this passage–remember how it ends: "but few are chosen." The word “chosen” again means just that, chosen for a purpose. In this case, the purpose was to be blessed. Is it because they placed faith in the master or is it because the master chose to bless for no particular reason? The answer actually is quite clear, only the master knows for sure. Hence, the true lesson: the master can and will do things according to His pleasure, and because this is true, the best thing for us to do is obey. The men in this story who went out late in the day were blessed amazingly, and I believe this was because they had total faith in the master. Those who went out first were blessed as well, but only to the point to which they trusted. You see, they limited their blessing by agreeing to a set and comfortable price; there was nothing left to the imagination and no need for faith. Get the point? I think we could all do well to just trust God to do what He wants rather than entering into a set agreement–sometimes He just wants to bless us. Going back a few years, my first wife and I realized that due to some commitments and ongoing expenses like taxes and insurance, we were in need of over $6,000 that we had no provision for, and we had only 6 months to raise the funds. We ran a number of scenarios, and I even attempted to make some extra funds by selling a few things. Well, that money went to other unexpected expenses, and soon we found ourselves faced with few options, yet I felt a very deep peace that the Lord would provide. Well, there we were, and somehow we were able to pay all of those expenses. Yes, there was little left; however, God provided in amazing ways and we were blessed beyond measure because we knew He did it all! Trusting God is never easy until you see His provision; however, it is always necessary because He is the one ultimately in control. Daily Prayer: Father, thank you that You choose to bless us when we need blessing, chastise us when we need chastening, and challenge us when we need challenging. Thank You, Lord, for choosing our ways. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "Trusting God can never be considered failure; failing to always is." Pastor Gene Burroughs