I saw the news headline earlier this week about the Nobel prize for economics and, a couple days ago, heard more about it in a podcast. The prize was awarded for works that were published in 1983. I do not know how long they worked on it before publication, but safe to say probably at least a year. So we are talking about something that started 40-something years ago.

These three economists believed in their work, but they probably did not expect, at the time, that they would get the Nobel prize 40 years later.

Our sincere obedience to God often looks fruitless compared to worldly fellows' "fruitful" way of the world. But God is faithful and notices our sincere obedience.

We will see the fruit of our obedience; we just do not know when. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, or maybe when we go to Heaven.

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing:

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
(Philippians 3.12-14 NLT)

Related: Obey in faith