I woke up this morning to embark on my typical morning routine which typically includes a hot cup of coffee to accompanied by my daily Bible time. As I cupped my warm mug between my hands, savoring every sweet sip of it, I couldn’t help but think back to the night before.
I arrived home late from a night of serving, something I do very occasionally on the side for a private golf club. I serve there maybe a dozen times throughout the year mostly because I can pick and choose when I want to serve and also because I love serving. I was a waitress for quite some time before having kids and had really enjoyed that line of work. When I had kids, being gone at night was too hard so I made a great decision to simply stay home. Serving for this golf club now and again is a fun way for me to get out of the house by myself once in a while and make a couple of extra bucks.
However, in all honesty, it is not at all convenient or a good fit for this season of our life (which is why I chose to stay home all those years ago). Often times my husband has to come home early from work or cancel plans to stay home so I can go work a job that pays just mediocre. He says he doesn’t mind it once in a while simply because of the fact that I enjoy it. Nice of him, but makes me stop and think… am I doing this for the right reasons and is this the best use of my time?
Last night I arrived at my shift and found those questions playing over and over in my head. Why am I here? Is this really where God wants me to be spending my time in this season? I know that God is calling me to some big things that I have been neglecting. Why am I spending my time here doing this, when I should be home investing this time into working on what God is calling me to do?
Then I went on to do some quick math and realized that with drive time and work time, I was away for 7 1/2 hours. 7 1/2 hours! Oh wow! Then it dawned on me that if I would invest even half of that time a week into the project that God is calling me to, I would be doing great things for His kingdom.
My coffee was starting to cool off by this point in my daydreaming session, so I decided to go fill up my cup before diving into my Bible reading for the day. I picked up my Bible reading plan in Acts 6 from the day before. Before I started reading, I told myself that I was going to journal no matter what today because writing is one of the things God is calling me to, so I committed to journaling today to get my writing juices flowing… little did I know what God had in store to share with me.
Here is what I read:
6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
I nearly spilled my coffee when I read verse 2.
I am always praying for God to speak plainly to me because I don’t do well “reading between the lines” (I’m sure you can relate) and here God is literally talking about WAITING ON TABLES! The exact thing I did the night before and the exact thing I was questioning because I was NEGLECTING the ministry of the Word of God that He is calling me to!
I am telling you I have read through the book of Acts SEVERAL times and don’t ever remember this standing out to me in the past. But today it was slapping me right in the face. I love how God’s Word seems to transform and apply to any season of my life! It is alive indeed.
Here is what I observed from that verse:
The twelve disciples clearly knew and understood their mission, calling and God-ordained tasks in this life. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that their job was “the ministry of the word of God”. They also knew that “waiting on tables” was an important task (just not “their” task) so they delegated that important work to seven others who were full of the Spirit and wisdom.
They prayed for the right group of men to come along so that they could focus on the waiting of tables, while the 12 disciples could continue focusing on that which they were called to: prayer and ministry of the Word of God.
Wow! So simple, yet so profound.
No one job was more important than the other. Both ministering God’s word AND providing the food were important things… they are just for different people! The 12 disciples knew their job and stuck to it.
Here is how I applied this to my life:
I took a hot second and reminded myself of my main jobs and callings in this season for ALLISON. Not for Allison’s friend, not for Allison’s sister, and NOT for the instagram all-star that Allison stalks on a daily basis. No. I reminded myself of what God is asking ME to do. Right now.
Wouldn’t ya know… it is not waitressing.
Then I thought about what I could accomplish if I committed even just an hour a day to what God is asking me to do. Since at this point I am almost neglecting it completely, anything would be an improvement.
How about you?
What is God calling you to do in this season?
Maybe it’s homeschooling your kids. Maybe it’s starting a ministry. Perhaps He is asking you to pray for others more diligently rather than scroll social media. Or maybe He is calling you to start a blog or a business.
Stop for a second and jot down the top three things that God is calling YOU to do in this season.
Then ask these questions…
- Do you find yourself running from that which God is calling YOU to
- Are you saying “yes” to the wrong things just so that you “feel” like you are busy doing something even if it isn’t what God wants for you right now? (CONFESSION: I am good at “being busy”, but it is better to do a few of the right things than be busy with all the wrong things).
- What can you say “no” to so that you can say “yes” to what God is asking of you?
- What priorities can you adjust or delegate that really aren’t for you in this particular season so that you can shift your focus over to what is important?
We are created to glorify God, not ourselves and sometimes a busy schedule full of the wrong things shows a heart of self-glorification. I’M TOTALLY GUILTY AS CHARGED!
Oh, I am so thankful for His grace and mercy because I sure do mess up a lot.
I want to glorify God.
I want to obey Him.
So that one day when I meet Him face to face He will say, “Well done good and faithful servant” and not, “why didn’t you do what I asked you to do?”
Comment below. I want to encourage you! What is God calling you to do in this season?
Let’s commit to getting in our lane and doing our best for HIS GLORY!
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