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“If you feel unappreciated for what you have done, God wants you to know that he sees you. The hours you have put in, the kindness you have shown is making a difference in the hearts of the people around you, and God is working through you in more ways than you realize.” — Tony Warrick

Do you ever feel unappreciated? I know I do. We all have moments where we wonder if folks even care about all the hard work we put in.

We ponder if folks care about us. We tend to think that people are only concerned about what we offer and do, rather than if they actually care about us. Heck, Mike Skinner said, “People don’t notice the things we do for them until we stop doing them.” He also says, “You’d worry less about what they thought if you knew how little they did.”

Let’s be real here y’all… some folks really don’t care about you. Some folks only care about what you do for them. We all can be a little guilty of this, can’t we?

We greet folks with “hey, how are you?” but get annoyed when they actually try to tell us how they are.

Stop worrying about what folks think of you. Stop beating yourself up over whether you have done enough. Stop becoming irritated when it feels like no one notices all the work you do.

Would you like to know why you need to stop all that? Because the only one we are truly serving is God… and he notices. God notices all the hours you have put in. God notices you doing task after task whether other folks realize it or not. God notices the reasoning behind you doing these things. God knows our heart better than we do, and he desires to work through you.

Sadly, some folks really only care about what you bring to the table. But, we ain’t here for them. We are here to be the good needed and share the love of God. Colossians 3:23 in the New Living Translation says: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”

You may not get noticed. Some folks will use you over and over again. Some folks only care about you when you benefit them. These are painful truths for our heart and mind. However, we don’t live for them. We live for God.

God can use us in tremendous ways if we allow him. Weather through those tough battles. Overlook the selfishness and greed around you. Don’t enable anyone but be willing and able to help. Serve God all the way through.

Rev. J. Cameron Bailey is pastor of Kenbridge Christian Church. He can be reached at jamescameronbailey@gmail.com.