40 Days of Purpose - Day 29

Accepting your Assignment

Another chapter, another day where I think, I never knew that… I’ll come clean and admit that I thought ministry had to be something for those who know what their spiritual gifts are and feel called to do like helping with youth work etc (normally something quite prestigious). Now that I am aware that service=ministry I realise it is not something that is out of my grasp and that any little thing done for others is serving God and is ministry. This really encourages me.
As a Christian, I have previously felt that I was not on the same level (in terms of maturity) as others within the fellowship, which I now know not to be true. I found that I easily discouraged myself as others made things look so easy and what could I contribute in comparison? However, what this meant in terms of service was that I did not feel confident enough to do things as there was always going to be somebody else who could do them better and probably more graciously. What a self-imposed barrier! At last I am confident of who I am in the Lord and know that even if I do something shakily at least I am doing it for Him. I don’t have to be perfect just willing.
Thinking about ministry is a challenge as what can I offer? It is also where I need to open up to God totally and ask how he wants me to help. I liked the description of strengthening our spiritual muscles. Daniel has poor muscle tone and needs much input to achieve what for other children is ordinary. Bless him, he has to work much harder than other children to achieve the same results but he does get there even if it is slower. The advice that I have been given for Daniel is to help him little and often and this is something which I now feel applies to my ministry. I now feel that I need to do more to hone my muscles and am pleased that I do not have to do something up front but can equally serve God behind the scenes. What does this mean for our fellowship? It means having a serving heart and being aware of ways in which I can contribute. My biggest challenge now is to commit to something but with Daniel’s health I do not want to be unreliable but not use this as an excuse for not being involved.
I am glad that God wants me at Elim and that there is a role for me. Something to discover…