serving with all faithfulness

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14&15)

Of late, my chronic physical pain has been at an all-time high.  Pain that I am frankly tired of talking about.  It wears me down.  It robs me of energy and rest.

I, like many others in this world, am too healthy to be considered disabled, and too disabled to be considered healthy.  Too young to retire, and too old to rerun.  I can work..., but only limitedly, for I am fragile.  And, this makes it hard to earn a profitable living like I once did back in the day.  It makes everything hard, frankly.  As a result, my world seems to keep getting smaller.  I have gotten very good at the art of giving up.  (Which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing.)

In this new normal, I continue to question God's plan as I seek more intimacy with my Maker.  It is here that I paint the beauty He shows me.  I write about the promises He teaches me.  I pray...  yes, I pray for the Lord to continue to give me His patience and strength... to accept what I have no control over... to let go of the seemingly accomplished person I once thought I was... to submit to His greater Way.  For I know God is still molding me into His perfect accomplishment.  I know that He has good plans for my life, even now in this broken, worn-down frame.  He made me for a reason.  I am valuable to His kingdom.  And He loves me beyond all human measure.

So, in the thick of today's painful woes, I choose to trust Him and pray for His peace, His relief, His comfort, His hope...  yes, His purpose.

It is so easy to fixate on the wrong in our lives and feel sorry for ourselves, isn't it?  We forget that every trial should be considered pure joy when truly seen in the context of God's refinement.  And this brings me to share the words in Joshua 24 with ya'll.

"...we will serve the Lord." 

It's interesting that Joshua doesn't talk about "believing"in the Lord, or "hoping" in the Lord.  No, He strongly talks about us "serving" God.  He bids us to give up clinging to everything else... to let go of old idols and old traditions and to simplify our lives around faithfully serving the only God who is worthy.

Mind you, the service Joshua speaks of is actionable.  For serving has a pulse and path.  It resources.  It supplies.  It facilitates.  It utilizes and employs all that we are and have... all that we think and know.  In fact, to serve fully demands complete devotion.  For good service cannot exist if we do not actually stand up and serve.

Sure, service looks different depending upon each person.  Nonetheless, faithfulness requires participation from those faithful, irrespective of crummy man-made working conditions.  In fact, the truest faithfulness exists and excels in spite of the thickest mire or the heaviest of loads.  As such, our goal is still to complete this race set before us... to finish strong... to continue moving forward in joyful obedience toward the favor of the Throne... the Grace... the One who heals all wounds and wipes away all tears.  We are to serve only Him today.  Joyfully for His Kingdom.  Rejoicing in His Glory!

Just a thought the Holy Spirit shared with me this early Friday morn.

Lord, no matter the trial... help me to continue giving up every idol in order to faithfully serve You.  Make my life as small as necessary.  Walk me through whatever is needed so that I may please only You, Jesus... sweet, wonderful You!

Amen.

:)

Victoria

© The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson