Friday, January 30, 2009

At Your "Service"

I created this blog, quite simply, to be obedient to God. I'm not a particularly "public" person; a journal is a more comfortable, safe outlet for my thoughts. But did God promise that our journey with Him would always be comfortable? Did He promise not to push us into unchartered territory when we turn over our lives to HIm? We know the answer and I know what you are thinking.......it's just a blog! You're right. It's not like He called me to Africa. At least not yet. :) (Pete, you're supposed to laugh.) For now, I jump into the world of blogging. It is my prayer that I honor Him with my words and learn from Him throughout this process.

God created me with a passion to serve. I love to volunteer. It brings me great joy to help others. Why, then, must He teach me eye-opening lessons about a subject I thought I knew well? He's God and I'm not. I am human and although I know the teaching in James 2:26, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.", God reminded me what comes first: faith. He reminded me over several days in His perfect, subtle way. I walked to a water fountain in my daughter's school. Posted over it was this:

"Jesus answered, 'He who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give Him will never thirst.'" John 4:13-14

I thought about that as long as I could before I went to do something else. No problem. The next day I stood in line to vote -- in a church, in a long, slow-moving line -- and the same passage hung framed, on the wall. It was the wall along which I stood with nothing to do but consider that God was indeed telling me something.

I quickly realized my lesson. Too often, I filled myself up with "doing." Yes, they were good things, helpful, kind. I did not do them at the expense of prayer and studying God's Word; I spent time with God. But I still felt empty and God's voice was clear: it's not enough. You feel empty because the time you spend with Me is not enough. Slow down. Be with Me. I will fill you in a way nothing else will.

He has filled me in a way I did not anticipate. God's love for us is so great that no matter how deep our devotion to Him, He can take us to a place of greater depth. And contentment. And peace. He continues to speak, and this morning addressed what we do first for those in need: we pray. God's power to provide exactly what is needed beats my pot of soup any day. James 5:16 reminds us, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." My lesson I share with you is this: take the time to be with God in a way that fills you completely, first lift up those around you in prayer, THEN turn on the stove. That soup won't heal, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Almost ready........blog should be up and running soon!