Divine Perspective: Weekly Devotion: To Serve...With Love

“…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).

Have you ever spent time diligently seeking God for direction, only to receive an answer you really didn’t want to hear? Sure you have. We all have. And I will confess that, on occasion, I have tried to ignore that answer—or, at the very least, tell myself that God didn’t quite mean it the way it sounded.

And yet, if I’ve learned anything in the 32 years that I’ve known Jesus as my Savior, it’s that God says what He means, and He means what He says. So it was more than a little tough to swallow the message He gave me some months ago when I asked Him for clear direction for my work/ministry for 2006. He said—loud and clear, I’m afraid—“Somebody has to set up the chairs.”

Huh? That sounded suspiciously like a call to work behind the scenes! But I’m a writer and speaker—a pastor, for Pete’s sake! How am I supposed to fulfill my calling if no one knows who I am or hears what I have to say?

But as you all know so well, God has a way of getting our attention, even when we do our best to ignore that “still, small voice.” And when He finally does, it feels so good to stop running after our own dreams and yield to His purpose. I don’t yet have a clear answer on how God’s directive to me is to read out in a practical sense, but I do know that I am now actively watching for opportunities to “set up chairs” whenever I can, for there truly is no greater sense of joy or fulfillment than knowing we are right smack-dab in the middle of God’s will, fulfilling His purpose and blessing His loving heart.

And one day, when we are welcomed home by the One who came to us as a Servant, offering His very life for our redemption, we will receive the greatest accolade of all: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

May that always be our focus and our goal, and particularly this week as many of us walk through days of “glitz and glamour” that will tempt us to forget that we are here to serve…not to be served.

Thank you, for the privilege of “setting up chairs” for you on Thursday mornings, and may you all be mightily blessed as you pray for one another and serve the One who is so worthy of praise.