We
do not serve the Lord for praise from people, or to please people, but to
please God. He tests our heart to reveal to us our purpose, so we can see if
there is any impurity in our motivation (1 Thessalonians 2:4, 6).
Every
Born Again Believer is a minister for the Lord. We serve in the area of our
spiritual gifts. These gifts, and God's calling on our life, may change over
the years. We may serve in several different ministries in our lifetime.
The
secret is to listen to God's Spirit, to serve where He leads us, and not to
take on more responsibility than God calls us to fulfill. Maybe there is a void
that we see in some ministry, but that may not be God leading us to fill that
void.
He
may want us to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers, because the
fields are ripe (Matthew 9:38). If we personally take on too much, we will burn
out and not do a good job in any of the places that we serve.
At
one point in my ministry, I served as Sunday School director for the Children's
Ministry. A few years later, God sent someone else to fill those shoes, and He
moved me to In-reach and Out-reach Director for a few years.
In
my service to God over the years, He called me to direct the Women's Ministry,
to help lead worship with my guitar on Sunday morning, to lead singing for the
Children's Ministry, to teach a Women's Bible Study, to disciple New Believers,
to pray with women for emotional healing, etc.
In
my senior years, He called me to serve in the kitchen ministry, to assist in a
children's Sunday School class, to occasionally help with housework for people
as they heal from an illness or surgery, and recently to pray and worship Him
at home all day long.
God
calls all of us to share the Gospel with anyone who will listen in the grocery
checkout line, in elevators, in a social function, online, etc. We are not
invasive or obnoxious, but we simply tell them that God loves them and has a
perfect plan for their life.
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us that we do not need a seminary degree to serve You. Even if we feel
unqualified, we can still share a quick testimony of Your provision in our
life, or give an understanding hug, or smile at strangers, or offer to pray for
someone, etc. Help us to see that these simple gestures can change a life.
As
we work in Your mission field, use us according to Your will. When we enter
eternity, we know You will allow us to view the impact of our service for Your
Kingdom. Help our ministry to be fueled by the desire to serve You, and
the motivation to obey Your Spirit each moment of the day.
Thought
for the Day:
If
our goal is to glorify God in all we say and do, then any negative results of
our ministry in people’s lives will not discourage us; especially if we
remember that God does not hold us accountable for the results, just for our
obedience to His calling on our life.
-
2 Chronicles 20:15
