Purpose Driven Life - Day 35

 

God's Power in Your Weakness

God loves to use weak people.

Everyone has weaknesses.  In fact, you have a bundle of flaws and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.  You may also have uncontrollable circumstances that weaken you, such as financial or relational limitations.  The more important issue is what you do with these.

We think that God only wants to use our strengths, but He also wants to use our weaknesses for His glory.  The Bible is filled with examples of how God loves to use imperfect, ordinary people to do extraordinary things in spite of their weaknesses. 

A weakness is not a sin or a vice or a character defect that you can change, such as overeating or impatience.  A weakness is any limitation that you inherited or have no power to change.  It may be a physical limitation, like a handicap, a chronic illness, naturally low energy, or a disability.  It may be an emotional limitation, such as a trauma scar, a hurtful memory, a personality quirk, or a hereditary disposition.  Or it may be a talent or intellectual limitation.  We're not all super bright or talented.

God is never limited by our limitations.  He will use us if we allow Him to work through our weaknesses. 

Admit your weaknesses.  Own up to your imperfections.  Instead of living in denial or making excuses, take the time to identify your personal weaknesses.

Be content with your weaknesses.  They cause us to depend on God and keep us humble.  Whenever you feel weak, God is reminding you to depend on Him.  Our limitations also show how much we need each other.    Most of all, our weaknesses increase our capacity for sympathy and ministry.  God specialises in turning weakness into strengths.  He wants to take your greatest weakness and transform it.

Honestly share your weaknesses.  Ministry begins with vulnerability.  The more you let down your guard, take off your mask, and share your struggles, the more God will be able to use you in serving others.  Opening up relieves stress, defuses your fears, and is the first step to freedom.

Glory in your weaknesses.  Instead of posing as self-confident and invincible, see yourself as a trophy of grace.  Sometimes God turns a strength into a weakness in order to use us even more.  It forces us to lean on God whether we like it or not.

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DAY THIRTY-FIVE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  God works best when I admit my weakness.

Verse to Remember:  "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."  2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)

Question to Consider:  Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses?  What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 34

 

Thinking Like a Servant

Service starts in your mind.

To be a servant requires a mental shift, a change in your attitudes.  God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do.  Attitudes count more than achievements.  Real servants serve God with a mindset of five attitudes:

Servants think more about others than about themselves.  This is true humility:  not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.  When we stop focusing on our own needs, we become aware of the needs around us.  You can't be a servant if you're full of yourself.  It's only when we forget ourselves that we do the things that deserve to be remembered.

Real servants don't try to use God for their purposes.  They let God use them for His purposes.  We can measure our servant's heart by how we respond when others treat us like servants.  How do you react when you're taken for granted, bossed around, or treated as an inferior?

Servants think like stewards, not owners.  Servants remember that God owns it all.  Servanthood and stewardship go together.  How are you handling the resources God has entrusted to you?

To become a real servant you are going to have to settle the issue of money in your life.  Money has the greatest potential to replace God in your life.  More people are sidetracked from serving by materialism than by anything else.  They say, "After I achieve my financial goals, I'm going to serve God".  Servants of God are always more concerned about ministry than money.  How you manage your money affects how much God can bless your life.

Servants think about their work, not what others are doing. They don't compare, criticize, or compete with other servants or ministries.  They're too busy doing the work God has given them.  They just trust God and keep serving. 

Servants base their identity in Christ.  Because they remember they are loved and accepted by grace, servants don't have to prove their worth.  They willingly accept jobs that insecure people would consider "beneath" them.  When you base your worth and identity on your relationship to Christ, you are freed from the expectations of others, and that allows you to really serve them best.  The closer you get to Jesus, the less you need to promote yourself.

Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation.  They enjoy helping people, meeting needs, and doing ministry.  They love the Lord and are grateful for His grace, they know serving is the highest use of life, and they know God has promised a reward.  It doesn't matter what your age is, God will use you if you will begin to act and think like a servant.

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DAY THIRTY-FOUR

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  To be a servant I must think like a servant.

Verse to Remember:  "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."  Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

Question to Consider:  Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 33

How Real Servants Act

We serve God by serving others.

Jesus measured greatness in terms of service, not status.  God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you.  While knowing your shape is important for serving God, having the heart of a servant is even more important.

God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we're not shaped.  While you may not be gifted for a particular task, you may be called to do it if no one gifted at it is around. 

Your shape reveals your ministry, but your servant's heart will reveal your maturity.  No special talent or gift is required to stay after a meeting to pick up trash or stack chairs.  Anyone can be a servant.  All it requires is CHARACTER.

Real servants make themselves available to serve.  Servants don't fill up their time with other pursuits that could limit their availability.  They want to be ready to jump into service when called on.  Much like a soldier, a servant must always be standing by for duty.

Are you available to God anytime?  Can He mess up your plans without you becoming resentful?  Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it whenever He needs to.  Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry.

Real servants pay attention to needs.  Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help others.  When God puts someone in need right in front of you, He is giving you the opportunity to grow in servanthood.  You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do.  Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching.

Real servants do their best with what they have.  Servants don't make excuses, procrastinate, or wait for better circumstances.  They just do what needs to be done.  God expects you to do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are.  It doesn't have to be perfect for God to use and bless.

Real servants do every task with equal dedication.  Whatever they do, servants "do it with all their heart".  The size of the task is irrelevant.  The only issue is, does it need to be done?  Small tasks often show a big heart.  Your servant's heart is revealed in little acts that others don't think of doing.  Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks.

Real servants are faithful to their ministry.  Servants finish their tasks, fulfill their responsibilities, keep their promises and complete their commitments.  Can you be counted on by others?  Are there promises you need to keep, vows you need to fulfill, or commitments you need to honour?  You can retire from your career, but you will never retire from serving God.

Real servants maintain a low profile.  Servants don't promote or call attention to themselves.  Real servants don't serve for the approval or applause of others.  They live for an audience of One.  The most significant service is often the service that is unseen.  Don't be discouraged when your service is unnoticed or taken for granted.  Keep on serving God!

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DAY THIRTY-THREE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  I serve God by serving others.

Verse to Remember:  "If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."  Matthew 10:42 (NLT)

Question to Consider:  Which of the six characteristics of real servants offers the greatest challenge to me?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 32

Using What God Gave You

God deserves your best.

He shaped you for a purpose, and He expects you to make the most of what you have been given.  He wants you to focus on talents He has given you to use.  To do this you must discover your shape, learn to accept and enjoy it, and then develop it to its fullest potential.

DISCOVER YOUR SHAPE

Start finding out and clarifying what God intends for you to be and do.

Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities.  Spiritual gifts and natural abilities are always confirmed by others.  Make a list.  Ask other people for their candid opinion.  Ask questions like:  Where have I seen fruit in my life that other people confirmed?  Where have I already been successful?

The best way to discover your gifts and abilities is to experiment with different areas of service.  Just start serving, experimenting with different ministries, and then you'll discover your gifts.  Until you're actually involved in serving, you're not going to know what you're good at.  When it doesn't work out, call it an "experiment", not a failure.  You will eventually learn what you're good at.

Consider your heart and your personality.  Ask yourself:  What do I really enjoy doing most?  When do I feel the most full alive?  What am I doing when I lose track of time?  Do I like routine or variety?  Do I prefer serving with a team or by myself?  Am I more introverted or extroverted?  Am I more a thinker or a feeler?  Which do I enjoy more - competing or co-operating?

Examine your experiences and extract the lessons you have learned.  Forgotten experiences are worthless; that's a good reason to keep a spiritual journal.  We rarely see God's good purpose in pain or failure or embarrassment while it is happening.  Only in hindsight do we understand how God intended a problem for good.

ACCEPT AND ENJOY YOUR SHAPE

Your shape was sovereignly determined by God for His purpose, so you shouldn't resent it or reject it.  Instead of trying to reshape yourself to be like someone else, you should celebrate the shape God has given only to you.  Part of accepting your shape is recognising your limitations.  Nobody is good at everything, and no one is called to be everything.  When we try to overextend our ministry reach beyond what God shaped us for, we experience stress.  Avoid comparisons, resist exaggerations, and seek only God's commendation.

KEEP DEVELOPING YOUR SHAPE

God expects us to make the most of what He gives us.  We are to cultivate our gifts and abilities, keep our hearts aflame, grow our character and personality, and broaden our experiences so we will be increasingly more effective in our service.  Fail to use what you've been given and you'll lose it.  Use the ability you've got and God will increase it.    Don't settle for a half-developed gift.  Stretch yourself and learn all you can.  Take advantage of every training opportunity to develop your shape and sharpen your serving skills.

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DAY THIRTY-TWO

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  God deserves my best.

Verse to Remember:  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."  2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

Question to Consider:  How can I make the best use of what God has given me?

The Journal Page

Date: Reference: Title:

Get the Facts:

• Author:
• Recipients:
• Location:
• Time Reference:
• Purpose For:
• Main Verse(s):

 

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Points to Ponder:

Questions I Have:

Summary and insights:

 

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My prayer: