YOU CAN DO YOUR BEST
Translated from Holy
Spirit Monthly—Issue 330
Do not wait until some deed of greatness
you may do. Do not wait to shed your light afar. To the many duties ever near
you now be true. Brighten the corner where you are.1
This hymn is one of my favorites.
The theme of this hymn not only expresses the purpose of service to God, but
also sets the direction for daily living. As long as I faithfully attend to my
duties, use my talents well and grab hold of opportunities to serve, I can do
my best at all times and in all of my services to God.
Here are some practical steps to
take towards putting forth our best for God.
UNDERSTAND GOD’S WILL AND YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS
When Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute
Christians, God’s bright light from heaven shone on him, thus beginning his
calling. After Paul understood that the Lord Jesus is the True God, he
immediately asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” And at once, God instructed him on
what he ought to do and showed him the direction of his work (Acts 22:6-21).
Paul understood that God’s will
was to have the gospel preached afar to gentile lands. He dedicated his whole
life to this goal. Moreover, he made good use of his spiritual gifts to
accomplish the work that was entrusted to him.
To work for the Lord, you must
first understand God’s will and what spiritual gifts God has given you. Ask
yourself, “Is there anything that I can do to glorify God and benefit man?” The
possibilities are countless: praying continually, giving thanks in all circumstances,
being friendly to others, staying optimistic at all times, working hard in your
academic studies, offering your wealth and time to the Lord…
BELIEVE AND OBEY THE LORD WHOLEHEARTEDLY
During the reign of King Jehoiakim, Judah was destroyed by the Babylonian
king, Nebuchadnezzar. Many were taken into captivity. Daniel and three of his
friends were among the captives. They resolved not to defile themselves with
the practices of the Chaldeans.
God gave them knowledge and wisdom so that they were assigned important
positions by King Nebuchadnezzar. When Nebuchadnezzar was troubled by a dream
that he could not even recall, he unreasonably sought to kill the wise men and
diviners if they could not interpret his dream for him.
In order to interpret the king’s dream, Daniel and his three friends
pleaded with God for mercy and revelation. God answered their prayer and Daniel
was able to interpret the king’s dream. By that, their lives were spared and
they glorified God’s name in a gentile country (Dan 2:14-49).
On another occasion, Daniel’s three friends stood firm in refusing to bow
down to worship the gold image made by King Nebuchadnezzar. Though they were
thrown into the blazing furnace, they were not harmed. Instead, they won
respect and affirmation from the king (Dan 3 16-30). Daniel and his friends
were not afraid of powerful threats from high authority because they had the
almighty God as their reliance.
When Ahab was the king in Israel,
he did evil in the eyes of the Lord by joining his wife, Jezebel, in worshipping
Baal and corrupting the nation’s faith. God sent the prophet Elijah to Mount Carmel to demonstrate God’s glory to the people,
that they might understand that the Lord is the only true God.
If we put ourselves in Elijah’s shoes, it’s probably not easy to stand up
against four hundred and fifty of Baal’s prophets. He did as God instructed,
and fire was sent from heaven to burn up the offering he offered. By relying
and obeying, Elijah brought the hearts of the people back to God (1 Kg
18:16-46).
We know of many biblical examples and testimonies of God’s power and
blessing. We too can experience these great works. As long as we are
synchronized with the Holy Spirit and always seek God’s glory, we will receive
God’s promise—because with God all things are possible (Phil 4:13; Gal 5:25-26;
Mt 19:26).
TOTAL SUBMMISSION TO THE LORD
During the wedding that took place
at Cana in Galilee, Mary, Jesus’ mother, saw
that the wine was running low. She told Jesus and also asked the servants to do
according to what Jesus said. The servants’ obedient actions changed water into
good wine, allowing the crowd to enjoy the banquet and give glory to God (Jn
2:1-11).
Think about a time when you were
faced with an adverse situation. How did you react? Did you fully submit yourself
to God and wait quietly for God’s plan, or did you grumble and complain? Did
you entrust all things to God, or did you forsake the truth?
We can learn from Mary’s
conscientiousness—as soon as she found out what others needed, she brought the
matter to God and believed that the Lord would provide a perfect solution.
TO DO GOD’S WORK IN DUE TIME
Opportunities sometimes strike but
once. Mary of Bethany seized hold of a great opportunity to please God by
pouring a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume, on Jesus’ feet (Jn 12:1-8).
Peter and John preached the gospel whenever and wherever they could, even
amidst threats and hindrances from the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1-20). Paul and Silas,
when imprisoned, still prayed and sang hymns to God. In the end, the two of them led the jailer
and his household to be baptized into the Lord (Acts 16:16-34).
We ought to apply our faith to our
daily lives. There are many things we can do. We can serve the Lord in our
speech, actions, and conduct. As long as we hold a heart of reverence to God
and a heart of love to men, we can surely glorify the Lord’s name.
Remember now your Creator in the
days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near
when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
FULFILL OUR CHRISTIAN DUTIES
Jesus said, “‘You did not choose
me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and
that your fruit should remain . . . these things I command you, that you love
one another’” (Jn 15:16-17).
God’s command for us can be simply
summed up in one word: love. Love is the driving force that brings about much
good. From simply being thankful in all circumstances to taking good care of
ourselves, from lending a helping hand to seeing others’ merits and giving
appropriate praise and assurance, we know that love is the key ingredient. Love
generates many great and small deeds.
GIVE PRAISE TO THE LORD
The apostles always gave the glory
to God for the miracles they performed. After being healed by Peter at the gate
named Beautiful, the crippled man jumped to his feet, walking, leaping and
praising God (Acts 3:1-10).
God guides all things and we are
merely His servants. We ought to give praise to God and not steal God’s glory.
When we finish our duties and complete all we are entrusted to do, we should
only say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have only done what was our duty to
do” (Lk 17:10).
POSSESSING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE IN SERVING
Do not be arrogant. Accept advice.
When Rehoboam became the ruler of
Israel,
he rejected the advice of the elders to lighten the workload on the people, and
increased their load instead. Rehoboam’s decision brought forth the Israelites’
rebellion against him (1 Kg 12:1-19).
King Uzziah became proud after
God granted him power over surrounding lands. Rejecting the advice of Azariah
the priest, he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of
incense. Because of his action, God inflicted him with leprosy until the day he
died (2 Chr 26:1-21).
Be humble in our service
What is important before God is
not the significance of the work itself, but rather our attitude in serving
Him. When God tested Abraham by asking for his beloved son Isaac as an
offering, Abraham raised no questions and uttered no complaint. Early the next morning
Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and
his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out
for the place God had told him to go (Gen 22:1-18).
During the process, Abraham’s
attitude in attending to God’s command, and his trust in God, won His favor.
God then promised to bless him and his descendants.
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful
also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is also unjust in much.”
(Lk 16:10)
Follow God’s will and work together in unity
The success of a project in
church relies heavily upon close coordination among all fellow workers (Gal
5:15; Phil 2:2). No matter what type of work we take up, other than good
planning, putting God’s will as the center and having godliness as the guiding
principle are the keys to successful completion of any project.
Put in your best effort and pursue spiritual
cultivation
When serving the Lord, we ought
to be hard working, have an attitude of endurance and have a sense of
responsibility (2 Tim 2:15). In addition, we must actively pursue spiritual
cultivation because serving the Lord starts with spiritual cultivation. Holy
work and spiritual cultivation are inseparable (Lk 10:41-42).
Take the choir as an example.
When we practice in a choir, we no longer sing for the sake of singing and we
do not practice for the sake of performing on stage. Instead, we participate in
choir to remind ourselves to seek further improvement to our spiritual
cultivation.
Singing hymns is a way to express
our gratitude towards God; thus, we should sing with our life and sing out of
love. When we sing in this manner, we will be able to show our thanks to God,
and at the same time, touch the hearts of the audience.
Pray for spiritual gifts
We should set high standards and
expectations for ourselves. Otherwise, we will surely slacken. We must be
willing to suffer for the Lord and train ourselves in godliness so that our
spirituality may grow.
We can observe and find out what
type of talent is needed in our local church and ask God for that particular
talent. Then we can further cultivate our ability and spirituality through
various training seminars and prayers. Everyone with a willing heart to serve
can serve.
YOU CAN DO IT!
Moses has the staff; Aaron can speak; Samson has
the donkey jawbone; David has the sling; Dorcas has the needles; Paul has
education; Mary has the pure nard; Everything is to serve the Lord!
These are the lyrics from a
children’s hymn describing how biblical characters loved the Lord. These
characters include men and women, young and old. They all have one thing in
common—everything is for the Lord!
Man can only find value and
meaning in life when he serves the Lord (Gen 2:15; Lk 1:75; Rev 14:13). In the
process, we learn to give thanks and repay His love as we understand more of
God’s grace and love for humanity.
