Worth
To be a human being and be without use to another is to know hopelessness. There is no value of self if we are not in some way of value to those we seek to please. If we have no one to please, we have nothing. There is no self-fulfilment if we are not valued by others no matter how much we pamper ourselves or seek our own way. To live a life of self-service is to live out life in an airless vacuum and to be utterly alone.
To know Jesus and to also desire to live for Him as Lord is to live a life of great worth; not only to Jesus but to all the others we come in contact with during our service to Him. There is no hopelessness in Jesus for whether we are strong or weak, He values us and uses us right where we are. In the prime of our physical strength, He uses us to care and tend to those who are weak. In our spiritual and emotional strength, He uses us to lift those who are down and spiritually bereft. In Christ, it is also quite possible to be weak but strong at the same time for it is in our weakness that Jesus outshines our own selves and is made visible to others. When we are weak, we have no choice but to depend upon Him. Even upon our sick bed when we are too sick to move a muscle, Jesus is very near and fills us with hope as He brings to mind all of those that we have nothing but time for as we lift them continually in prayer. Our loved ones may miss all the things we do for them physically but those temporal services cannot compare to the eternal blessing of having every action and every trial bathed in prayer by a precious saint who's last service on earth in this present time is that of prayer without ceasing. There is no church more enabled and empowered to reach others with the gospel than one that is continually lifted to God by these very usefull and valuble saints.
If you find yourself in a hospital bed or continually in the doctors office and you are thinking that God has placed you upon the shelf, open your spiritual eyes and see! All around you are the sick who do not know Jesus who's eternal future might be changed by an encouraging word from Jesus through you. Look into the faces of the tired and overworked health care providers who may have no hope but science and as they desperately try to mend the crumbling bodies of others, they are crumbling themselves from within by the emptiness of their own spirits. With the eyes of Jesus, look into these faces and see your worth, your value, and forget for a time, your own pain. There is no pain pill that compares to that filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit that lifts us upon eagle's wings to overcome all obstacles when we are fully operating within the full Will of God.
Dear Christian, no matter where you find yourself today, whether it be in sickness or in health, in poverty or wealth, in trial or celebration, look to Jesus and know the joy of being of upmost value to Him. He died for us so that we might live eternally with Him. He has left us here so that through us He may call others to that same eternal life found only in Him. He empowers us to do that work and protects us and holds us through every challenge that meets us as we walk the narrow path with only Him. We are His bride and He is coming soon to gather us to Him. On that day, there will be no more doubt caste upon our joy by the shadow of death that has in futillity set itself to destroy us and the work God has appointed to us, through our circumstance.
Look up! Our redemption is very near! Be lifted up as by the Spirit you are tucked safely beneath His wing as you soar above all trials, cruel circumstance, and even the crucible of physical pain and death to a day when the shadow of death exists no more and there is no more hopelessness and pain. Rejoice! Rejoice where ever you are today in the glory that soon we will celebrate together in Him.
To know Jesus and to also desire to live for Him as Lord is to live a life of great worth; not only to Jesus but to all the others we come in contact with during our service to Him. There is no hopelessness in Jesus for whether we are strong or weak, He values us and uses us right where we are. In the prime of our physical strength, He uses us to care and tend to those who are weak. In our spiritual and emotional strength, He uses us to lift those who are down and spiritually bereft. In Christ, it is also quite possible to be weak but strong at the same time for it is in our weakness that Jesus outshines our own selves and is made visible to others. When we are weak, we have no choice but to depend upon Him. Even upon our sick bed when we are too sick to move a muscle, Jesus is very near and fills us with hope as He brings to mind all of those that we have nothing but time for as we lift them continually in prayer. Our loved ones may miss all the things we do for them physically but those temporal services cannot compare to the eternal blessing of having every action and every trial bathed in prayer by a precious saint who's last service on earth in this present time is that of prayer without ceasing. There is no church more enabled and empowered to reach others with the gospel than one that is continually lifted to God by these very usefull and valuble saints.
If you find yourself in a hospital bed or continually in the doctors office and you are thinking that God has placed you upon the shelf, open your spiritual eyes and see! All around you are the sick who do not know Jesus who's eternal future might be changed by an encouraging word from Jesus through you. Look into the faces of the tired and overworked health care providers who may have no hope but science and as they desperately try to mend the crumbling bodies of others, they are crumbling themselves from within by the emptiness of their own spirits. With the eyes of Jesus, look into these faces and see your worth, your value, and forget for a time, your own pain. There is no pain pill that compares to that filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit that lifts us upon eagle's wings to overcome all obstacles when we are fully operating within the full Will of God.
Dear Christian, no matter where you find yourself today, whether it be in sickness or in health, in poverty or wealth, in trial or celebration, look to Jesus and know the joy of being of upmost value to Him. He died for us so that we might live eternally with Him. He has left us here so that through us He may call others to that same eternal life found only in Him. He empowers us to do that work and protects us and holds us through every challenge that meets us as we walk the narrow path with only Him. We are His bride and He is coming soon to gather us to Him. On that day, there will be no more doubt caste upon our joy by the shadow of death that has in futillity set itself to destroy us and the work God has appointed to us, through our circumstance.
Look up! Our redemption is very near! Be lifted up as by the Spirit you are tucked safely beneath His wing as you soar above all trials, cruel circumstance, and even the crucible of physical pain and death to a day when the shadow of death exists no more and there is no more hopelessness and pain. Rejoice! Rejoice where ever you are today in the glory that soon we will celebrate together in Him.
6 Comments:
Hello JoyIndestructible,
Thanks for the post! I especially liked the part about ministering to health workers while (at the same time) being the patient. It reminds me of Paul's command to 'make the most of every opportunity'.
Part of the difficulty in reaching out to others is when they don't understand/appreciate the things you do. Yet we are called by God to treat them the way we want to be treated (not the way they want to be treated). A lot of people fall into the trap of desperately looking for the acceptance of other.
That being said, you are perfectly right. Jesus came down to make himself available to all, and he has called those who would be great to become the servants of all. Just as Christ was blessed in his rich generosity toward us, so too those who give are blessed.
Hi BB,
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was inspired by some dear saints I have known who faced suffering with the confidence of faith that was probably the most powerful testimony I have ever seen.
BB, could you fix the html for me? I don't know what I did...
Hey BB,
I cleared up the problem myself...still don't know why it happened but oh well!
Do you think it will get better when all of the blond has turned grey????
JoyID,
Hiya!
Blessings to you and your loved ones this season.
Often, I find myself hand-cuffed to a circumstance and through such ... renew my understanding of the beauty and simplicity of a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus.
There is latent wonder in how we may partner in Him for good works ... but there is so much more to walking with Him than mere utilitarian usefulness. It is in times of impotence that I discover this fully.
Mike Wells told me in his office about a time when he was busy rushing around one day and ignoring the Lord. He wanted to get on with preparation for an Abiding Life conference and God kept telling him to stop and sit down a while. Finally, Mike sighed and stopped while worried that he had not the time needed to get things done (for God.) "What is this about?" asked Mike ... and after sitting a while, he just heard this: "I just wanted to love on you, Mike ... I wanted to tell you that I love you, that's all. And I've been waiting all day for the chance."
So, as you are recovering under doctors care, there is plenty of opportunity just to sit there and get a hug. Yeah, maybe not being put to the utmost utility for God, but that doesn't mean that God looks at it as a loss, just to hold you and whisper sweet loving things like: "I've got you my precious child." and so on ... Who knows? Maybe He has been waiting for years with sweet anticipation to sit still with you and hold your hand as you go through these circumstance.
Ripening,
Trent
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Trent. I liked the story about Mike.
Trent,
Thank you, sweetie. God has been 'loving on me' a lot lately. He's whispering to me about living daily in His presense and finding the power there to overcome all that He has appointed to me to overcome in this life.
Pam
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