“Nope.”
“No more water on door.”
“No.”
“No more nail shoes to floor?”
“Nope, never again.”
“Okay” the boy said with a smile, “no more spit in soup.”
I recognize passion in others, but I am not sure if I have it. How can I know?
Passion originates with a connection and deepens with a conviction. When you believe what you believe you will find you more hope, patience and prayerfulness.
Have you discovered the delicate balance between having to high of an opinion of yourself and thinking that God cannot use you at all? That "sober" evaluation of who you are in Christ AND of Who He can be in you is what leads to fruitfulness and fulfillment as a Christian! Therefore, one of the hardest accomplishments in life is to arrive at an objective view of yourself and your abilities. Perhaps the harder thing is maintaining it once you get it. To do so requires a delicate balance between pride and humility - OR - between arrogance and false humility.
But Paul gives some insights on how to find that balance. He says the key is to measure yourself against your potential in Christ rather than compare yourself to other Christians. That will largely be determined by the extent that you know Christ and understand yourself. He has already challenged you to have your heart changed and your mind transformed by His Spirit. Only when you have the mind of Christ can you "soberly judge" yourself. Only when you know what your spiritual gift(s) is (are) can you be honest in your view of yourself.
I completely surrendered to the will of God when I was 14 years old. But at that time I had a very poor self-image and very little self-confidence. So, when God called me into the ministry I struggled gathering enough confidence to see myself in a pastoral role. It took me four years to grow and mature into the understanding of self-confidence based on God confidence. A trusted spiritual mentor constantly reminded me that with God's calling comes His enablement. And I came to understand the truth about spiritual gifts, special abilities given by God and activated by His Holy Spirit that enable me to minister in His Name. I could partner with God to accomplish the calling He had placed on my life. I began to understand that "without God I could nothing" BUT I could "do all things through Christ Who gives me strength". I could identify with Paul when he said, "To whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" Col. 1:27.
I learned during those formative years that self-confidence for the Christian is "Christ confidence". Having confidence was not about me, it was about Who He was and Who He could be in me if I would surrender to Him and live a consecrated life walking with Him. God would not be able to use me if I thought too highly of my abilities. Neither could He use me if I lacked confidence. The answer was to find my confidence in Him and His ability to use me in ministry.
How about you? Have you discovered your spiritual gift? And if you have, are you using it in your local church.
If you answer "no" to either of these questions it is time to "sober up"!
"Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, perfect, and pleasing will."
Once you have had a spiritual transformation in your heart and mind you get on God's wave-length and can know what His plan is for you. Are you seeking His will?
I want you to notice what this verse says about God's will. It is good! That is good as in "righteous". So, if you are called to overcome evil with good wouldn't you want a "good" will at work in you and through you? Seek it! Seek it daily!
Also, notice that His will "perfect". How many things do you know that are perfect? God's will is perfect for you and for the purpose He has called you to accomplish. The word means "perfectly fitted for a task". For example, if you have a slotted screw and a phillips screwdriver that tool is not perfect for the job. A slot screwdriver is. So, this will that you seek is perfectly designed to fit you and to fit you for the task of overcoming evil with good! How good is that!
SERVE, Vv. 3-8
"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."
A huge part of the "perfect" will of God for you is discovering the "measure of faith" or the "spiritual gift" that He has hard-wired within you and activated by His Spirit. Once that happens you will find your place - the position you are to play to contribute to a winning team!
Once you discover your place then ministry will become a joy instead of a job! You will find greater satisfaction in serving! You will have boundless energy for serving rather than burn out!
Have you sound your position? If not, keep seeking! If so, keep serving!
Once you surrender to God and seek His will and then serve in that will, you will find that you grow stronger and you will bring strength to the church where you serve AND you will shape the people you serve! Week by week and day by day as you serve you will bring God's goodness to bear against the evil around you! You will accomplish the purpose God called you to!
Sound good? Sounds Scriptural!
Will you surrender today? Will you seek? How will you serve?