God’s Will For Your Life
I remember asking the Lord once, “God, what is it that I should be doing with my life?” I had images of using my unique set of skills to serve Him. Perhaps a ministry that would be truly mine because I was the only one who could do it in just such-and-such a way. Do you know what He answered back to me? Two words, soft and undeniable, settled onto my heart: “Serve Me.” Wow, was I ever falling short.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this moment in my life. It was the first time that God had ever spoken to me directly. (I think because it was the first time I had ever asked Him a direct question…) It certainly changed my way of thinking. Until that point, I had known lots of Christians who were waiting to serve because they were waiting for the right doors to open up for them. They knew what they wanted to do with their lives, but didn’t know how to get from point A to point B. The fact is, we aren’t always called to do what we want. And when we are, we need to take baby steps before landing in a full-blown ministry.
But I need to find something that I can be good at…
Perhaps you are a music director in your community. However, there’s no opening for a choir director at your church, so you can’t find a way to serve. Well, I believe that’s a very limited way of thinking. A problem with some Christians today is that they aren’t looking to serve; they are looking for an easy way to feel good about themselves. Or worse yet, they want to be recognized for their service, like a true Pharisee.
Were you born to lead?
Maybe you are a born leader, but we need to learn to follow before we can learn to lead. Have any of you ever had a manager that didn’t understand your position? Perhaps they had been hired directly out of college and thought they knew everything about everything when in fact they knew nothing because they had never been in your situation? It is impossible to understand true leadership until you have spent some time following.
History Lesson
Here’s a short story from my own life. The last thing I ever wanted to do was accompany. I’ve always said how much I hated it! I did it for a while in college, because it paid. When it came time to accompany the students in their sophomore recitals at our local community college, I was so nervous I wanted to bolt. I actually remember thinking, as I sat at the piano bench, “What are the absolute worst consequences if I just get up and leave right now?” I decided I would never be able to show my face there again, so I stayed.
However, I now accompany the congregation every week during church. And until I found a church of my own, I served others by playing in churches when their pianists were unavailable. It wasn’t easy at first, but it was something I could do while waiting to know what God wanted for my life. And now, the truly funny thing is that I actually enjoy it. Anyone can vacuum or pick up trash on the streets. The idea is to do something while waiting to find your niche.
Challenge yourself today.
Are you doing anything for God? Is your neighbor, who never graduated from high school and who volunteers at the church by cleaning toilets once a week, pleasing God more than you are?
Note: This post is directly tied to Still Waiting on God? and Not Real Good with Words, so if you want to dig deeper into the topic, click through to read more.
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