What to Do When Your Good Deeds Go Unnoticed

Have you ever put your heart and soul into making someone feel special only to barely get a thank-you? Worse yet, maybe your act of kindness was even spat upon. You went to the moon and back to make sure someone's big day turned out perfect with all the trimmings. You took off work to do someone a favor. You went without so someone else could have. You were never thanked. You stayed after work without pay and did your co-worker's job to make sure the company project was successful. Still, someone else got the promotion. Perhaps you're in ministry and sow into people's lives on a constant basis, and the ones who love to eat at your table never sow back into you. Unacknowledged, unimportant, and unappreciated is how you feel, and you're not alone. Here's what to do when your good deeds go unnoticed.

Let's look at the example of Mordecai in the book of Esther. Early on, we see him stop a plot to kill King Ahasuerus. Mordecai would sit within the king's gate, and one day while there, he overheard a plot to whack the king. He told Queen Esther who then informed the king, and the plot was confirmed. Then, the two eunuchs who'd planned the murder were executed (Esther 2:23). Afterwards, everything returned back to normal for Mordecai. He wasn't rewarded or promoted, and the Bible doesn't even tell us that he was thanked. But you know what Mordecai did? He went about his daily life trusting and serving God, and continued looking out for others (See chapter 4). Look at what happened next...

A trap was set by Haman, Mordecai's enemy, to have him hanged. The night before it was to take place, God interrupted the king's sleep so that he was restless. King Ahasuerus asked for the book of the records of the chronicles to be read to him, and when it was, Mordecai's kind act was mentioned. The king asked if Mordecai had been rewarded and was notified that he hadn't been. At that very moment, Haman came in to ask for permission to have Mordecai killed.

6. So Haman came in, and the king asked him, "What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought in his heart, "Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?"

7. And Haman answered the king, "For the man whom the king delights to honor,

8. "let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.

9. "Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: 'Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!'"

10. Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken." 

11. So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!" (Esther 6:6-11)

Mordecai was publicly honored at just the right time for what he'd done. This shows us that God sees all that we do for others, and at just the right time, He will reward us. What you do for others privately, God will reward you for openly (Matthew 6:4).

 

Note how the night before the plot to kill Mordecai was to be carried out that God kept the king awake and the chronicles were read (Esther 6:1). This shows us that God is always one step ahead of the enemy! He is our protector. He's working on the king's heart on your behalf even while you sleep! 

Perhaps you weren't recognized for that special act, or you didn't get that promotion because God was protecting you from something just as He was Mordecai. Rest in God. At just the right time, you'll receive your honor, recognition, and promotion. Until then, do as Mordecai did. Keep serving and trusting God, and doing for others. God sees you, and you are appreciated by Him. Trust that your reward will come just when you need it most.

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ." (Col. 3:23-24)