Lord, help me invest in edifying those who make me weary. Unburden my heart and infuse it with joy so I might serve others before myself with a smile.
During the last few days, serving has felt like a burden.
I’ve found it hard to be cheerful when inconvenienced by someone else’s needs, and though this fact makes me feel like a terrible person, it’s true. I’ve been more irritable than normal, and instead of holding myself accountable for how my frustration manifests itself, I’ve justified my short temper repeatedly.
Sacrificing my needs and desires for others has never been easy, and I know some people can say the same. We all know individuals who are natural servants at heart, and as much as I would love to identify with these people, I am not one of them.
On rare occasions when God reveals to me the true intentions of my heart, I’ve found myself convicted by the selfishness and pride that lies beneath my generous façade.
This year, Jesus has asked me to slow down, listen and linger with others rather than escape into my inner world. He has pushed me to evaluate my spiritual health more frequently than usual and loosen my grip on the “future plans” I desperately want to figure out.
Each weekend I try to take a Sabbath rest where I spend an uninterrupted hour reading my Bible, journaling and praying—making this space for God to speak before a new week has drastically changed my life. Romans is one of the books that the Lord always seems to lead me to when I’m weary. It’s the one where I hear God’s voice the loudest.
This past weekend, I read Romans chapters 14 and 15. The Lord once again brought my spiritual health into question through Paul’s message of service toward those who are hard to love. The Christians Paul wrote to struggled to serve other Christians whose beliefs inconvenienced them. Paul addressed the issue of clean and unclean food by championing a selfless approach to differences in opinion. “If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15).
Where have you let your wants and needs trump those of your brothers and sisters around you?
“You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:10). All too often I have allowed my agenda or evaluation of someone’s character to limit my willingness to serve them.
Paul encouraged the believers to “stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister” (Romans 14:13).
Where have you placed selfish stumbling blocks for yourself and others?
Paul counsels us to “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19). He knew that once we realigned our hearts with God’s, we would seek after Romans 15:5-7, which says, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
I pray that we remember Paul’s words the next time we’re wrestling with weariness and choose to draw on the Lord’s strength when serving feels like a burden.
