I'm Too Busy to Serve
Life is busy. Our days are filled with work, family, kids, laundry, dishes, football games, laundry, phone calls and texts, playdates, cooking dinner, homework, laundry (it’s never-ending, right?), grocery shopping, car maintenance, walking the dog, church and the list goes on and on.
One can get tired just thinking about all we have to do in one day! As we enter a season that is even busier with decorating, shopping and parties, there are also many opportunities to serve. How can CCV ask for more of our time when we are already so busy? Don’t we pay the staff to do all that stuff? Let me share three reasons why we should serve…
One can get tired just thinking about all we have to do in one day!
First, serving the Lord is commanded. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says, “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to…serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul”. And Philippians 2:12-15 says, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” If you don’t want to serve, do it anyway, without complaining. As you obey, ask God to change your heart and give you the desire to serve Him. Obedience is always blessed, and God is faithful to answer your prayers.
Second, you are needed. Have you ever spent hours putting together a 1000-piece puzzle, only to find that there were only 999 pieces in the box? It is so disappointing to find that the picture has a hole and cannot be completed without that one missing piece. In the same way, the church is incomplete if you are not using your unique gifts, talents, personality and passions. Romans 12:8 says, “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.” This does not mean just the paid staff! There is a hole in the picture when you are not in it.
Finally, serving brings joy. You may not want to serve. You may even be going through difficult days that are filled with stress, depression, loss or loneliness. Psalm 126:6 says, “He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” Joy may not come overnight or with one time serving, but it will come when you are faithful to obey.
You may not know what your gifts are or how serving can bring joy and fulfillment. It may take a few tries to discover the things that ignite the passion in your heart. We are created for more than our mundane daily routine demands of us. That which begins with determined obedience will turn into beautiful, life-giving service.