It's not the words coming out of your mouth, it's not your Facebook status updates. It's what's in your brain and on your heart. God and you. The only ones for the rest of time who will know the whole truth and nothing but when it comes to where you are in your walk with Him, and how you really feel about your neighbor, or teaching that Sunday school class, for example.
I have struggled with this a lot lately. I am the master of the façade. I can smile all day any day, like my life is just blissful and perfect and not a thing goes wrong, ever. But, I have learned, that is not what gets me through the day. And that it's not always as convincing as I think it is. Whenever anyone asks me how I am, how my day was, how my week was, my response? Fantastic! Awesome! Great! Because those words are easy to roll off the tongue, and almost guarantee that that person won't pry deeper. If they did, I would probably just lie again, and say all is well and fine and perfect. But, truth be told, I am hurting. I am sleep deprived, I am weak, I need God. And I need prayer, way more than I think I do, and much more than I am willing to ask for.
My pastor just this last Sunday asked everyone to remain standing, then proceeded to say, those of you who don't have a need in your life that you need prayer for, sit down. And that is when my heart broke. My heart broke for the people in my church, those that I am surrounded with each week, who I have not made a point of getting to know, those people are hurting and they need my prayer. Now as I sit here, and try and remember every face I saw Sunday, retrieving mental images pew by pew, or chair by chair, I know I have forgotten many, but I know that God knows they are all on my heart, and I know He hears my asking Him to help them with their needs, whether "big" or "small," He hears them all.
When you give to the church, to others, to the homeless man on the corner, that gift means nothing to God if your heart and thoughts weren't in the right spot. We should not be giving for the tax break, or for the recognition and the "thank you". We don't give in church because God needs it, everything we have is already His, and we only have it because He gave it to us. We should be giving because we want to, because it brings us joy, because we as Christians should have an inward desire to give.
And this doesn't only relate to gifts of money, but with assistance, service, favors, etc. Don't open that door for that elderly woman because you have to, but because you want to! Don't offer to serve that meal because someone encouraged you to sign up, and you felt like you had to, serve that meal with a smile and a servant's heart.
Here about a year ago now, I picked up a woman walking down the side of the highway between the town I lived in and the town I commuted to for work. It was just about freezing outside, and she hardly had what I would call a coat on. Of course I felt bad for her, and initially thought the trip was just going to be to the town I worked in, and had dinner plans made for in. But the trip extended to another town half hour away, out of the way, but I told her I had time, and was willing. Yes it was snowing, and yes the town that I took her to had received the most snow out of all of the surrounding towns, and yes I wondered at one point if I was going to make it back. And yes, I started to regret my decision before we even reached our destination. Yes I spent most of that trip telling her it was fine, everything was okay, and then inwardly punching myself for being so stupid and too nice and getting myself into such a bind. I ended up bringing said lady back to the town I work in, thus wasting all of that time and worry for literally nothing, right? No. I know that God put me in that woman's life for a reason. She cried over and over again on the way back, because of my playlist, the songs touched her so much, and while she was telling me her story. God let me touch that woman's heart, even though my heart was not where it needed to be. That day could have been completely different, and my smile more honest, if I would have given that woman a ride for Jesus! If I would have opened my door to her with a more willing heart and more thankful mind.
So turn your eyes upon Jesus today! Open your heart and mind to Him, and stay focused on His Word. What you say and how you act will be what the world sees, but how you feel and what you think, that is what God sees. And He knows. Live for Him, love for Him, and serve for Him.
In Job, chapter 2 verse 3, the Lord is speaking with Satan, and He says, "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth* evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause." Oh to be spoken of by God Himself in such a manner. I want to strive to be more like Job, to have God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Something that helps encourage me to try my hardest to do so is knowing that God sees me and He knows what is in my heart, but guess who else is always watching, the devil, and I just find joy in knowing that I am ruining his day every time I do something pleasing to God, every little or big battle I win with God against Satan.
Strive to live your life today, serving others, with a servant's heart, open and willing to do whatever God needs you to do for whoever God places in your life to serve.
Psalm 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." (KJV)
1 Peter 1:22 "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently." (KJV)
"In this life we cannot always do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
-Mother Theresa
Romans 15:1-2 "1We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification." (KJV)
*eschew definition-verb: to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid
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