Awakening Faith: Hope From the Global ChurchSample

Prolonged Obedience

I sat across from an American believer who began sharing about the influence of Ludwig von Mises, the Austrian economist. Our conversation drifted from economics to endurance. He explained how Mises shaped the way companies began to think. We’d shifted from thinking about generations to thinking about quarters. The numbers tell the story: in the 1950s, the average lifespan of a company on the S&P 500 was 61 years. By 2016, it had dropped to just 18. Owners had become renters. Long-term thinking had been replaced by short-term gain.

We both paused as he connected the dots to the church. Could this same mindset have crept in, tempting us to measure impact not in lives transformed over decades, but in quick numbers: hands raised, attendance spikes, quarterly results?

The truth is, the Kingdom doesn’t work on quarterly reports. Faithfulness is not futility. God calls us to a long obedience in the same direction. Seasons of sowing may feel slow. Prayers may seem unanswered. Obedience may look ordinary. But in God’s economy, perseverance is never wasted.

Paul reminded the Galatians: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

The harvest belongs to God. Our call is faithfulness.

Do you measure success by immediate results or by steady faithfulness to Christ?