Tuesday’s Trench Lesson

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

A warm welcome to you! Thanks for stopping by for Coffee Hour and our “Tuesday’s Trench Lesson.” In case you are wondering what in the world a trench lesson is, it’s just a time to dig in a bit deeper, take the masks off that we tend to wear in our day-to-day lives and talk about things a bit more transparently. So, grab your coffee, your Strand of Faith and I pray that you will be able to relate with this trench lesson and tie some knots in your faith.

I am part of a connection group that meets in our home every Tuesday and currently we are talking about Life on Mission via a book and DVD by Tim Harlow. So last week, during our connection group time, we were talking about serving…what it is and what it isn’t. Matthew 25:40 describes serving pretty accurately: “The King replied, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

I won’t get specific about what my husband and I have recently done to reach out to help one of the least of these, but I will share that it is ongoing and it is definitely taking me out of my comfort box, further from myself, refining me and humbling me.

As our group sat and watched the DVD, and thereafter discussed the questions and our answers, I was rendered humbled by all I’ve yet to learn about serving others, especially in light of the fact that I’m in ministry and thought I had reached my capacity to serve others! Apparently, I haven’t!

When Dr. Tim Harlow even went as far as to say that maybe we should drop some of our “church” activities to allow for more time to truly serve others, my heart cried out yes! That’s what He’s teaching me; slow down and catch what I’m throwing at you!

He made the distinction by talking about socializing and truly connecting by saying that he honestly believes that the greatest hindrance to the mission of Christ is the busyness of His agents. Serving is going from being a friend to family, from socializing on the outside and bringing them in!

That really struck me rather profoundly. He’s right; we can be so caught up in doing, doing, doing, that we forget how to serve by being! Serving doesn’t give us the license to run amuck and be so busy we forget how to be with others, or we don’t recognize a divine appointment, even when it’s right in front of our face. True serving takes connecting and they’re two things that get in the way of true connection: convenience and comfort!

Oh, Father, serving you is definitely not convenient but definitely rewarding, incredibly uncomfortable but crazily peaceful!

Look around you friend; whom will you serve today?

Love,

Evinda