(2 minute read)
In the past few months, God has been trying to tell me something through three Scripture stories: The Changing of the Water into Wine at the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2: 1-11), The Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6: 1-14), and the day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-41). He has been reminding me that He does the work. I can rely on Him to work through me if I offer Him my water, loaves & fishes, and myself, and let the Holy Spirit in.
What does offering my water, loaves & fish, or myself look like? If I offer my day, my time, my will, my effort to God, He can change, multiply, and inject life into my endeavors. If I have the attitude that I don’t have time to pray or I’m too distracted to pray, I am actually sabotaging my efforts. If I don’t base my day, my work, my life on prayer, then how will I bear fruit? How will I be open to the Holy Spirit infusing life into me?
One of the things we stress in our Team Training Modules (coming soon) is that our efforts to serve must come from the overflow of God’s grace in our lives. We cannot sustain a life of service on our own efforts. Our service to the Church and to the people of God must flow out of our own personal encounters and responses to Him. That means we have to make sure we leave space in our lives to encounter Him.
It’s easy for me to fall into the trap of thinking, “I’m serving the Lord through my vocation as wife and mother and through my work for His Church. My life is a prayer.” But, just as my relationship with my husband will suffer if all we do together is manage the household, my relationship with God and my openness to His grace and mercy will suffer if I never spend time with Him.
God wants me to give Him my time, my day, my will, my efforts. He wants me to spend time with Him and be open to Him speaking to me. So, I need time and silence. I need to open myself to God and trust that He is there for me, that He is strengthening and guiding me. I need to listen for His Word to me. I need to let Him reveal Himself to me.
Our work for God’s Church and His people is accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is comforting, but requires a life of prayer and offering, a commitment to the time spent with God. Through that offering of ourselves, He changes, multiplies, and injects life into our work.
How is God calling you to offer yourself?
Written by Kathy DeVet
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