Servants Together, God Gives the Growth
The work is ours, the rise is His.
Devotional Credit: Ray Stedman, Immeasurably More
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3 draw our eyes away from personalities and methods, and back to Jesus who gives the increase. He reminds us that every believer is a servant, and every role matters. Some plant, some water, yet only God makes anything grow. That truth is freeing. It takes the weight of outcomes off our shoulders and places it where it belongs, on the faithful Lord who works within His people.
This vision dissolves the clergy and laity divide. Scripture does not place a few on a platform and the rest in the audience. All of us are ministers in everyday places, carrying the life of Jesus into households, workplaces, neighborhoods, and friendships. Your assignment is not small. It is specific. The Lord has already woven it into your days.
Competition fades when we remember that we are one field and one building. The planter and the waterer are not rivals. They are teammates. When Jesus is central, applause turns into gratitude, and anxiety about results turns into trust. The Spirit is quietly at work, often in ways we cannot measure, bringing about the increase that no human can produce.
I am grateful for Ray Stedman’s clear voice here. He points us back to the simplicity that rescues tired hearts. We serve. God gives the growth. That is not passivity. It is participation with Jesus, a steady rhythm of presenting ourselves to Him, keeping in step with the Spirit, and loving the person in front of us as He lives through us.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I am with you and I dwell in you. I have placed you in My people as a servant of Jesus, not as a star. Think of yourself rightly. You are My fellow worker, yet I give the increase. When you plant a word and another brings care, I am the One who opens hearts and forms the life of My Son within the community.
Present yourself to Me today. In the name of Jesus, let your words and your work be an offering. Do not measure yourself against another. I arranged the body so that each part supplies what I provide. I give gifts. I empower service. I knit you together in love so that My church grows and builds itself up.
Abide in Me. Draw from Me. Apart from Me you can do nothing, yet as you remain, you will bear much fruit. I work in you to will and to do what pleases Me. Speak of Jesus as Lord, and regard yourself as a servant for His sake. When you are honored, give thanks and pass the glory upward. When you are overlooked, rest in Me. I see. I reward. I complete the work I begin.
So serve with a quiet heart. Plant when I give seed. Water when I give opportunity. Refuse rivalry. Welcome cooperation. In all things, do your labor in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him. I am faithful. I will accomplish what concerns you and what concerns My church.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of baking a simple loaf at home. You mix flour, water, salt, and a little yeast. You knead, you shape, you slide the dough into a warm place. Then you stop working. The rise is not your muscle. The yeast does what only yeast can do, it lifts the dough from within while you go about the rest of your morning. When the bread finally comes out, it is clear that your part mattered, but another power made it come alive.
That is how ministry looks in ordinary life. You send a kind text to a discouraged coworker, you share a quiet word of encouragement with a neighbor, you open Scripture at the table with your family. Then you entrust the “rise” to the Holy Spirit. If a conversation today is tense or a task at work carries weight, you can simply whisper, Lord, I entrust this moment to You, live Your life in me and through me as I speak and act, and I will rest in Your increase.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus I am already a servant in Your house. Thank You that Your Spirit lives in me and that every assignment today is carried in Your grace. I gladly present my words, my work, and my responses to You. I rejoice that outcomes belong to You. Use my planting and my watering as You desire, and let the increase display the beauty of Jesus. I celebrate the gifts You have given across the body, and I rest in the joy of serving together under Your care. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
1 Corinthians 3:5-9; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Mark 10:45; Matthew 20:28; John 15:4-5; Ephesians 4:16; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Colossians 3:17; Philippians 2:13; Romans 6:4; Romans 6:11; Galatians 2:20