We serve God by serving
others
In our self-serving culture
with its ‘me-first’ mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. God
determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people
serve you. Remember God shaped you for service, not for self-centredness. Your
shape reveals your ministry, but your servant’s heart will reveal your
maturity.
+ Real servants make
themselves available to serve.
If you only serve when it’s
convenient for you, you’re not a real servant. Being a servant means giving up
the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it whenever He
needs to. Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry and
are happy for the opportunity to practice serving.
+ Real servants pay
attention to needs.
Always be on the lookout for
ways to help others. When God puts someone in need right in front of you, He is
giving you the opportunity to grow in servant-hood. You may only get one chance
to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can,
to all the people you can, as long as you ever can” – John Wesley
+ Real servants do their
best with what they have.
If you wait for perfect
conditions, you will never get anything done. One reason many people never
serve is that they fear they are not good enough to serve. It doesn’t have to
be perfect for God to use and bless it.
+ Real servants do every
task with equal dedication.
The size of the task is
irrelevant – God will never exempt you from the menial and mundane. Small tasks
often show a big heart. Your servant’s heart is revealed in little acts that
others don’t think of doing. No task is beneath you when you have a servant’s
heart – before attempting the extraordinary, try serving in ordinary ways. Sometimes
you serve upward to those in authority, and sometimes you serve downward to
those in need – you develop a servant’s heart when you’re willing to do
anything needed.
+ Real servants are faithful
to their ministry.
Good servants finish their
tasks, fulfill responsibilities, keep promises and complete commitments – they
don’t quit when feeling discouraged and are trustworthy and dependable. Faithfulness
has always been a rare quality – you need to keep promises, fulfill vows and
honour commitments to be a faithful servant – work at it constantly. Imagine
what it will feel like when you get to Heaven one day and God says to you,
“Well done, my good and faithful servant…” Faithful servants never retire. They
serve faithfully as long as they’re alive!
+ Real servants maintain a
low profile.
“Put on the apron of
humility, to serve one another.” When real servants are given recognition for
their service, they humbly accept it but don’t allow the acclamation to
distract them from their work. Don’t turn helping others, giving, and even
prayer into a performance for others – Jesus hated this attitude.
Self-promotion and servanthood don’t mix! You won’t find many real servants in
the limelight; in truth they avoid it when possible. They are content with
quietly serving in the shadows. [Unfortunately, many leaders today start off as
servants but end up as celebrities. They become addicted to attention, unaware
that always being in the spotlight blinds you!]
You may be serving in
obscurity in some small place, feeling unknown and unappreciated. LISTEN: God
put you where you are for a purpose! – stay put, He will let you know if He wants
you somewhere else – your ministry matters to the Kingdom of God. In Heaven God
is going to openly reward some of His most obscure and unknown servants.
Knowing this, don’t be discouraged when your service is unnoticed or taken for
granted. Keep on serving God. Even the smallest service is noticed by God and
will be rewarded.
Let us continue to pray and
serve together... Love you ~ Stafford
“It is by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that
this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there
is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” -Acts
4:10, 12
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