“If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” – Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT
Have you ever been taught that “Anything worth doing is worth well!”? Or perhaps you have heard this one, “If I can’t do it perfectly, why should I do it at all?” Some do not serve the Lord because they don’t feel good enough. Others only serve when they can be on top. I am learning to serve where I am needed and that no job is too small. In fact, I prefer to serve in the background doing what may seem small. “It takes a village, as the saying goes… a village of God’s people working in the church together. Some are meant to be leaders and some are meant to me helpers. My gift to serve is with the low profile and that is OK!
In reality, we all do poorly when we first start doing something. That is how we learn! The important thing is to start, to just take the next step. I know; you have heard me say that over and over again. It is because that is my refrain now, meaning I am trusting in God for the next step. Real servants of God begin by doing the best with what they have at the time. The important thing is that we begin by beginning to serve with the small things. Rick Warren made a statement, “Less-than-perfect service is always better than the best intention.” We need to believe that it doesn’t have to be perfect for God to use our service. Every one of us has been blessed with specific gifts and it takes all our gifts to make up the body for Christ.
In the words of Maya Angelou,
“You did then what you knew to do, and when you knew better, you did better.”
Sometimes we miss opportunities to serve because we lack spontaneity or we don’t believe that the Holy Spirit is directing our path to serve. I believe that sometimes these opportunities are fleeting and pass by just one time. The occasions that have hurt me the most have been when the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart to witness to an individual or maybe to go and pray with them only to find out that they passed away in the night.
Lord Jesus, forgive me for not following your direction. Help me to do what I can, with what I have, for you today. Help me not compare or compete with others who serve you. Help me focus solely on what you’ve called me to do. Help me to just take the next step. Amen.
