Instead of retiring after serving as President of the United States, John Quincy Adams spent the last several years of his life as congressman. During that time, he became well known in the Congress for his fierce opposition to slavery. For years he fought against it, although little seemed to change. On one occasion, when asked by a reporter why he continued to fight for the freedom of the slaves, a seemingly hopeless cause, Adams reportedly responded by simply saying, “Duty is ours, results are God’s,” and walking on.
Regardless of whether he saw results or not, he was convinced of the rightness of his cause, and was committed to fulfilling his duty of fighting for what was right. He realized the results were out of his hands, but that in itself was not an excuse to do nothing.
And the same is true with us. While we cannot control every outcome, we can control our actions. We can be faithful do the right thing, the hard thing, the good thing, even when it seems like it makes no difference. But we need not take on the weight of trying to control the results—God can handle that responsibility. Our responsibility is to keep doing what is right, regardless of the outcome.