He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” // Luke 10:2

I plopped my bag on the pew and slid in next to it, heaving a sigh of relief. I had the dimly lit church all to myself. Our monthly women’s group had just wrapped up, and it had been nothing short of beautiful, with poignant sharing and heart-level conversation. Yet we’d also had an uncharacteristically low turnout; only two other women had shown up besides me. 

What am I doing wrong? I wondered. What needs to change? I considered the success of countless other groups and ministries, and my insecurities gathered steam. It must be me. 

The glinting gold tabernacle caught my eye, and Our Lord gently but firmly tugged me away from my tailspin into His Heart. 

Did I give you a quota? I felt Him say. Or invite you into mission? 

I had to laugh. I’d ignored the beautiful fruit that I had witnessed first-hand during the meeting, and instead applied my prideful, constrained standards to His limitless work. 

So often we judge our contribution to God’s harvest through the world’s restrictive notion of success. We cling to numbers and analytics, or measure ourselves against someone else’s timelines, talents, and accomplishments. This leads to hasty conclusions that our role—even our very selves—must be unimportant or lacking.  

Christ tells us the opposite: the real lack is disciples willing to say yes to His call. 

The Lord knows you’re imperfect but calls you anyway. His harvest is not dependent on your talents and results—or anyone else’s. It’s dependent upon your openness to His power in your weakness. 

This truth extends to measuring your work against others. Ordered rightly, it is, in fact, all God’s work. We’re all on the same team, and other disciples’ work cannot take away from our own.

This means that wherever Christ calls you, your role is vital. There are countless souls in need of salvation. There’s an abundant harvest in need of a lifetime commitment. Today, let God redirect your focus to the invaluable souls He’s placed right in front of you—starting with your own. Today, let Him redefine “success” for you.