An excellent devotional this morning....it really speaks as to my own heart for serving the Lord. But not only "serving the Lord" in the sense of being a missionary or working at a church, but in everything that we do, our jobs, our interactions with family and friends. Surprisingly one of my favorite verses is not included in the devo below, and it really should be!
Colossians 3:23-24 says,
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ"
My mom really ingrained this verse into my life as I was growing up. Everything was done "as unto the Lord", she would always remind me of this, whether I was doing my chores, homework or when I started working. She has never stopped reminding me of this verse actually, even now, at 36 years old she still reminds me of this verse when my focus is removed from the Lord and put on myself.
We need to remember that in everything that we do, we are do it as unto the Lord because it is Jesus that we are serving. This really can transform your life. It takes you from dwelling on yourself and others, and puts your focus where it belongs - on Jesus Christ.
Are you bitter and upset and feeling cheated because you spend all day cleaning and cooking and your spouse never says thank you? Are you doing all that for your spouse? Do it as unto the Lord.
Are you frustrated because your boss is not noticing the good job you are doing? Are you only doing a good job for recognition? Is it really all about you? Do it as unto the Lord, do it in a way that will bring praise and glory to Him.
When you do things as unto the Lord you do them the best that you can because you are doing them for the Creator of the universe. The One who has given you salvation. The One who knows your name. Who loves you. Of course we should want to do our best for HIM!
We get disappointed, bitter, hurt and can feel cheated and unappreciated when our focus is off. When we are doing things for man or ourselves and not for the Lord. Man will disappoint. God will not. When we remove the focus and goal of our work from man to God we can never be disappointed. So what if that person didn't thank you for the work you are doing, you are not doing it for them anyway, you are doing it for the Lord. Remove the expectations off of man and put them on God. Do your best, do it as an offering and sacrifice to the Lord. Do it to point to Him not to yourself. Your world will be transformed once this has sunk in and you really believe and live a life as unto Him.
Can you really do homework, housework, your job, and how you interact with people "as unto the Lord"? YES. Our actions can be a sacrifice and an offering to the Lord. We can worship Him in how we do our jobs, in how we interact with others. And we can bring glory and point to HIM, when we are doing these things as UNTO Him, FOR Him.
I challenge you to take a moment and think about why you are doing what you are doing...are you doing it to impress someone else? Are you doing it to earn favor with another person? Are you doing it to get yourself noticed and recognized? Where is your focus?
Here is the devo from Piper that I read this morning...I hope it will also bless you as it did me and it will challenge your way of thinking....
What Does It Mean to Serve God?
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). What does that mean?
- It means to do what he says in a way that makes him look supremely valuable in himself.
- It means to submit to him in a way that makes him look thrilling.
That kind of service is not the service God commands.
What’s the difference?
The difference is that God has told us not to serve him as though he needed anything.
“He is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).
“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Both these texts put all the emphasis on God’s giving to us when we serve.
So the kind of service that makes God look valuable and thrilling is the kind that serves God by constantly receiving from God. The key text to describe this is 1 Peter 4:11 —
“Whoever serves, [let it be] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
God is seen as glorious when all our serving is moment-by-moment receiving from God’s supply.
We receive this supply by faith. That is, we trust moment-by-moment that what we need, in serving him, he will supply (“life, breath, and everything”). This is the opposite of being anxious. Such serving is happy. And it makes God look no less authoritative, but infinitely more desirable. This is the glory he means to have. The giver gets the glory.
Therefore, “serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2).
-John Piper
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