Serving can sometimes become a way that we "show" other people we are "good" people. It can be a way that we advertise our church, or give accolaids to an company. It can be a way of using what is meant to be a selfless act and point blank shoot a spotlight on us in a darkened theatre. I have been there. I have been the person "helping" someone and then telling them about a church service or someother self serving thing. It never left me feeling anything other than a pat on my own back and self satisfaction for a "job" well done. I have been challenged in my own personal life on this front recently and I have asked God to help me and I have seen Him, and felt Him beging to scrub out of me some ugly traits and He has laid it on my heart that I am not called to live a "comfortable Christian Life" I am to become "comfortable with being uncomfortable" I am to not be seeking out my own comfort in any situation I should be entering it with the attitude of "God, use me to fulfill your purpose in whatever way you see fit..amen". I have been blown away at how quickly He has answered this prayer, I actually was not happy about it. He brought me into a pretty uncomfortable situation that I was just wanting somehow to squirm my way out of..but I allowed God to work in spite of my selfishness and He used that situation to bless someone in a way I never even knew they needed. GOD wants to be able to work through us..but if we are not able to seperate SELF from SERVING then I am convinced it can not be done... at the very least not be done to the capacity that He wants it too.
So HERE is the CHALLENGE.. Let's pray that prayer. Let's make ourselves available for GOD to use us to fulfill HIS purpose in whatever way HE sees fit. Let's shed the cage of self and embrace the uncomfortable and see how GOD can touch lives. I would love to get feedback from all of you on how GOD answered this prayer for you.
Be encouraged by this verse. Let it kindle a fire and passion to see GOD move in your life:
James 1:2-4
The Message (MSG)
2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
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heather
When my daughter was first diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, it felt like a sentence for us all. I realized that we had to find some good in this, & so I prayed that He would use me however He needed to. I felt that I had to help others that were in similar situations. It almost felt like I could change things by helping newly diagnosed parents through it. I cannot begin to tell you how many blessings I have seen through this. It's amazing sometimes how one little comment can change another parent from being lost to relieved that they have found others that understand. Several years ago I couldn't see my own worth. Now I know that God feels that everyone has worth. I look for the little miracles now. I watch for evidence of His ways. When you look for it, it's amazing how often you see it! My life now has a purpose that I would never have expected.
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