Living Life With A Purpose: When Serving God Becomes An Obligation

"Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing."

Psalm 100:2

I believe that The Lord wants us to serve Him not out of obligation, but out of devotion. He wants us to serve with a cheerful heart and the right attitude. He doesn't want our empty words and actions, but our hearts to be surrendered. Though this is all true, to be honest it is easy to fall into the trap of just "going through the motions." As Sunday after Sunday passes by, if we are not careful, serving God can become just another thing that we do instead of a true act of worship. He doesn't want our sacrifices or service, if our hearts aren't right before Him.

"You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar."

Psalm 51:16-19

Let's look at the definitions for the words "obligation" and "devotion"

Obligation-something that you must do because of a law, rule, promise, etc.; an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound.

vs.

Devotion- religious fervor; piety; love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause.

As you can see an obligation is described as something that we are bound to because of a rule or law, while devotion is about doing something because of our love for that particular entity, in this case God. It's not that we aren't supposed to be committed to serving The Lord, because we are, but if we view our service to The Lord as a job, then we have missed the mark. We are to be serving Him with gladness and from a heart of gratitude, for all that He has done for us. This isn't always easy though, especially in the midst of busy schedules.

I'm going to be completely honest and let you all know that I've gotten to that point before, where my attendance and service at church was more because I felt I had to do it, not because I genuinely wanted to. I spent probably most of January-April in a going through the motions type phase. I would be excited and truly devoted for like 2 weeks and then spend a month only serving because I knew people were counting on me. My heart wasn't fully in it and I felt so overwhelmed and stressed out sometimes just thinking about church. I was so consumed by work/ministry that my heart started to become cold and I lost the joy that I once had for serving His people. It had gotten to a point where it seemed like people only came to me when they had issues or needing something, never just to see how I was doing. Granted I know that it is not about me, but I need to be covered and prayed for as much as the next person. I became so irritable, frustrated, and upset about the littlest things. Every time the church line rung, I would cringe and want to throw my phone. I was being pulled in so many different directions by so many different people that serving God became more like a job that I started to despise. My workaholic tendencies creeped into my relationship with God, as I struggled to keep pushing through all the work that was being placed before me. I began to make my service for God more important, than my time with God (aka idolatry). I still prayed and worshiped but it was super hard for me to press in, at times, because my mind was so cluttered. This was a cycle that I went in and out of until I finally got so fed up that I took a step back and planned a vacation to just relax, celebrate my birthday, and spend time with God. He had been tugging on my heart to take a break and let's just say that was the BEST thing I could have done. He showed me where I had gone astray and why I was feeling so burnt out. In addition, He clearly spoke about so many other areas of my life, gave me direction, and reignited my passion and desire for Him. Also, I learned the importance of REST! Even Jesus went away from the people at times to rest and pray, and God rested on the 7th day after He was finished with creation.

A story in The Bible that reiterates that point is found in Luke 10:39-42:

"Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The important thing to note here is not that Mary was wrong for working, it's just in that particular moment she was distracted by her work and missing out on spending time with Jesus. Her priorities were just out of order, whereas Mary decided to sit at the feet of Jesus first. There is work to be done, but it must be done AFTER we have spent time with The Lord.

Sometimes being a leader or serving in ministry is hard, because people constantly are coming to you with their issues and problems. It's not necessarily like a job where you can clock out, but it is still important to put proper boundaries in place. You cannot work every second of every single day, unless you want to end up burnt and stressed out like I did. There's a time to work and a time to play. You need time to breathe, you need time to pursue the passions that God has placed inside of you, and you need time to recharge and relax with your family, which is ultimately your first ministry.When we find ourselves in a place where we are saying "I have to" vs. "I get to," it's important that we take a step back and check our hearts and lives. Serving God should not be seen as a job, but as a privilege. It is an honor to be used by God, in whatever capacity that might be. We are talking about the Almighty, Holy, Magnificent, & Wonderful God. The God of creation who knows the number of hairs on our head, who created us from mere dust, and is sitting high upon His throne in heaven. A Scripture that has helped me is Colossians 3:23-24:

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and

that the Master you are serving is Christ."

Even when people get on my nerves or are making life more complicated then it needs to be, I remind myself that I am not working/serving for them, but for Jesus Christ. Even if they never say thank you or acknowledge my hard work, I've come to truly believe that nothing is hidden from our Abba Father and my rewards and treasures are being stored up in heaven.

What can we do if we find ourselves beginning to go through the motions (this is not by any means a complete list)?

1. Confess & Repent. Be honest with God and let Him know how you are feeling, it's not like He is surprised by it. He knows everything about you!

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."

Psalm 51:10-12 

Repentance opens up the door for The Lord to go into our hearts and make the changes that need to be made. It allows for Him to have His way in our lives and renew our minds. Once I humbled myself in order to confess my sins, admit my shortcomings, and ask The Lord stepped in to help me. God is there to help us when we go astray, but we must first cry out, in order for Him to act. We have to humbly surrender our hearts, minds, and soul, and ask Him to cleanse us from the inside out; to give us new hearts that want to obey and dwell with Him.

2. Take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. There is a time to serve and there is a time to just sit and allow The Lord to fill you up with His presence, goodness, love, peace, strength, wisdom, direction, joy, etc. You cannot pour out what you do not have. It's vital that you spend time with The Lord every single day. And you don't have to announce to the whole world, on social media, that you are taking time to spend with God. If you are taking a break/fast, do so in secret. Every time you sit down to study The Bible, doesn't need to go on public record. Enjoy your time with the Father, just you and Him.

"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:6

3. Prioritize your schedule and commitments. You might want to look at your commitments and narrow them down. We have a tendency to overbook ourselves and take on more than we can truly bear. Also make sure that you are still in God's Will. Sometimes we are out of position and God is trying to get our attention, so that we can line back up with His Will. Learn to say no, when necessary. There's a big difference between saying yes to everyone and saying yes to God. People will keep throwing more on your plate, unless you tell them no, but you have to STAY IN YOUR LANE. I read an awesome book by Lysa TerKeurst called "The Best Yes" which dramatically changed my life. Don't allow people to guilt you into doing stuff that God hasn't even called or graced you to handle. Every event, every assignment, every ministry, every meeting, etc., isn't for you to be a part of. We can't allow for everyone else to use us, but God, here on this earth. We all have a specific purpose with specific instructions and a specific path to walk upon. As I keep seeking The Lord, I've had to shut down and rearrange a few things, over the past few months, but it was so worth it. The things I'm involved in now, I can honestly say are God-ordained and not just positions where I'm just filling in because there is a gap (sometimes God calls us to that, but not always. Seek Him for the discernment to know the difference). I love that Jesus came only to do the work of The Father who had sent Him; nothing more, nothing less. He was a man on a mission who knew the importance of seeking God, to make sure He stayed on the right path.

"For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will."

John 6:38

These days I am doing A LOT BETTER!!! My prayer life has improved, my time with God has been fruitful, and I'm walking with a purpose to use my gifts and talents to serve The Lord. Worship has become refreshing and my cold heart, towards service, is gone. My heart has been set ablaze with the love of Jesus and I'm determined to keep this fire burning. I'm full of joy and smiling more than ever! God has called us all to a life of devote service to Him and His people. Let's continually seek to keep our hearts in a posture of worship and adoration for our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh and remember to pray for your spiritual leaders, because they need it!!!

"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to."

Philippians 2:3-6

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mark 10:45

I'm a HUGE lover of music and will be posting different songs on my blog, as The Lord leads. Enjoy this song "I Surrender All" by William McDowell, who is one of my favorite worship artists! This song, off of his "Arise (The Live Worship Experience)" album, has been wrecking me all week!