John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
I’ve been struggling with the routines of life lately. Gratefully my natural tendency to live in the extremes is being tempered by daily meditation, journaling and attending my weekly discipleship groups (that is what I consider recovery and men’s groups to be – Iron Sharpens Iron) so my 16hr work-aholic day or the opposite binge-netflixing all day is at bay.
That being said, I still wake in the mornings with a sense of “what am I supposed to be doing?” I have a job, church groups I lead, the ever-present need and desire for bible study and prayer… but is that all?
As I read through John 4 this morning and specificaly the story of the woman at the well I realized that Jesus many times mentions specifically what our calling is.
He is very specific as to WHAT we are to do:
- Feed my sheep, tend my lambs
- Love God, others and yourself
- Become Fishers of Men
- Deny yourself and pickup your cross and follow Him
- Spread the Gospel
- Feed the hungry, tend to the sick
- Care for the widows and orphans
- Study the word of God – write it on your hearts
- If your brothers falls to sin gently help him up
- Before going to the altar make amends to those you’ve hurt
- Worship God alone – have no other idols
- Go unto the whole world and make Disciples
This list could go on much longer – these were simply the ones that came to my own heart in the moment (and unfortunately I don’t have time this morning to reference each verse).
The beauty is that He doesn’t say HOW to do these things. That is for US to discern based upon the talents and treasures He has given each of us uniquely and the passions of our own unique hearts.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Spiritual Gifts
12 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice[b]; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.[c] 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,[d] while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
The point is we determine the HOW, He determines the WHAT and WHEN.
And the WHEN is NOW, TODAY, EVERY DAY!
When we get up in the morning first thing we can praise Him, read His word, speak with Him through prayer and listen for direction. As we go out the door we will meet people – each one is a creation of Christ whom God wants a relationship with. We are divinely appointed to love EVERYONE – not just a select few who treat us well.
Our coworkers, bosses, those selfish drivers on the freeway, the rude person in line at the grocer store, the man you’ve seen on the same corner for years asking for money.
To love them is to not just toss a dollar out the window or say a silent prayer for them as you drive or walk past them; it is to sincerely engage with the world; whatever part of the world God chooses to send across your path today.
Be a vessel of His love, share His gospel, be a minister of His caring, be a purveyor of His truth. Do it all in a manner that fills your own soul with great Joy in knowing you are serving a good and just God.
Father God I thank you for the breath in my lungs, the blood in my veins and the Holy Spirit which fills my soul. Open my eyes to the needs around me and let my heart sing of Your beauty and focus not on the hardships of life but the opportunity hidden within those hardships to worship and serve the One Who paid it all for me.
One Man's Journey of Redemption 