Inside Out: A 40 Day Journey to Transforming Your HeartSample

Serving Heart

Life is busy. Whether you are a business owner trying to keep your business afloat, a stay at home mom trying to keep the kids and house in order, or a college student trying to pass all of your classes, there never seems to be enough time to do all that we feel we need to do or want to do.  Our hearts can get weary with the day-to-day responsibilities in life, and so when we hear that we are to have a serving heart, it just seems like too much. 

Jesus lived a different sort of life. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to serve those around Him by providing for their immediate needs and dying for their spiritual needs.  Jesus never was in a hurry or stressed out, though He did get tired. That's when He went away to spend time with the Father. That is how He renewed His strength to continue to serve. His purpose in coming to earth was to be a servant. He was a servant during His life and a servant in His death. Jesus was able to do this because He was focused on two things: accomplishing God's work while on earth and bringing God glory. He said in His final prayer in John 17:4, "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do."

Just as Jesus was a servant, He instructed His disciples to see themselves as servants. Matthew 20:25-28 says, "But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

We are often busy, overwhelmed, and stressed because we are serving whatever builds our kingdom. We think we need to work harder. We need to kiss-up to teachers, employers, or potential clients. We spend so much energy focused on moving forward in this temporal life that we forget that our focus is to be on the eternal: serving God in all that we do to bring Him glory.  Luke 4:8 says, "And Jesus answered him, "It is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" We need to evaluate if we are serving God or serving whatever makes us more money.  Matthew 6:24 emphasizes this, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." 

Our focus needs to shift from serving ourselves by building our kingdoms to serving God and building His Kingdom. Daniel 7:14 says, "And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." No one is exempt from serving God and His Kingdom. What we invest in toward God's Kingdom will never be destroyed or taken away. 

God has given us different personalities, passions, and giftings to serve God and others. Though how we serve God might differ, we all serve for the same purpose in mind: for God to be glorified. 1 Peter 4:10-11 says, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." We glorify God by living for eternity while we are here on earth. People will notice how we serve God and others, and they will see we are different from the world.  

Some of us might wonder if we are disqualified from serving the Lord due to sins we've committed in the past. Even when we've done wrong, God can still use us for His Kingdom. 

1 Samuel 12:20 says, "And Samuel said to the people, 'Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil.  Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.'" 

God doesn't use sinless people to be His servants. He uses repentant people willing to follow Him moving forward. God uses imperfect people so that He gets the most glory. 

When our hearts become serving hearts, we will not only be modeling Jesus' heart toward others, but we will have a clearer, more fulfilling purpose in life. The career we have to make money is no longer the focus. How to serve others to bring God glory in that career becomes the greater focus. We are blessed when we look for ways to be a blessing.  That's how we are transformed from the inside out. 

Take a Moment:

• How do you need to change your thinking on what having a servant's heart looks like in your family, career, and community? 

• How might God be asking you to serve Him in your career and let go of the stress of making more money? 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me to focus on serving You and not myself.  Show me how to invest in Your eternal Kingdom and not my temporal kingdom. Show me who to serve in my family, at my work, and where I play. May I serve with a faithful, glad heart to bring You glory! Amen.