The following is a devotion I gave at our ladies' Christmas party, December 14, 2007. Peradventure you might feel inspired, maybe even a little challenged to achieve great things for the Lord in 2008 after reading it. The Lord bless you — Liz
At the close of the year, we often reflect on the past twelve months—the good times, the challenging times, the times you just wondered out loud how you’d make it. And yet you did. We’re all here tonight, you and I, and we made it through all the “Oh no-s!” of the year. Sometimes fearing, trembling, crawling forward—but you went forward. Sometimes with your head down, afraid to look up—so wounded, so troubled—yet you went forward. You may have taken baby-steps and you may still, to this day, not have any idea how you made it—but you did. A phrase so often found in the Bible is, “And it came to pass…” Everything comes to pass. Many times it is just human nature to look back and relive the past: “Wasn’t that the greatest? Wasn’t that fun? Wasn’t that awful?! Aren’t you glad that’s over with?! We come equipped with, as human beings, a great amount of fortitude within. Couple that with the grace and strength of the Lord and we are able to keep going and going and going. So let me challenge you at this time of year when we find ourselves reminiscing over the past: What are you going to keep on doing and what will you add to the list of ways you can serve God? I think I could not have asked for a better living and breathing object lesson than to have Mrs. Larry Clayton sitting in the same room with us as I present you with these thoughts. Talk about a couple that’s always on the move—continually going for the Lord!
My goods husband often says to me, “Liz, you never stop.” Sometimes, quite frankly, he makes me stop; sometimes, on rare occasions if I’m sick, I have no choice but to stop. But particularly concerning the things of the Lord, how do you stop? Even more, how dare we stop? Consider the following as we step into the New Year ahead:
1. Never stop serving the Lord. How many of you got out the dictionary the other night after Bro. Clayton preached and looked up the word “enterprise,” as he recommended we do during his preaching? I did as soon as I got everyone settled and served our usual “after-Wednesday-night-church snacks, soup, and sandwiches.” When an older preacher who’s been serving the Lord practically his whole life-long challenges me to do something—I don’t take that lightly and I wanted to look it up before it slipped my mind. Enterprise means a bold and brave adventurous spirit. That’s what we need to serve the Lord. We should not be thinking (those of us who have done everything from work in the nursery to children’s church and everything in between) of ways to get out of all we do, but rather we should prayerfully ask the Lord, “Lord, what else I can do?” The tendency is as you get older, to reward yourself for all of life’s little inconveniences you’ve had all along the 2ay. To drop all of the “Hard” things you’ve been doing. The philosophy often is, “Let someone else do it—let the younger ones do it.” I am all for young people jumping right in and serving the Lord—but who do you think has more experience and is more seasoned? Those who have been saved longer. These are not the years to jump ship! More than ever, it’s time to reach within yourselves for that brave and adventurous spirit.
2. Ask the Lord to make you usable. Everyone has talents and abilities that, if you ask the Lord to enhance those natural loves and inclinations in you, He can do that and then you’ll be serving the Lord in an area you love. The other day, one of the parents of one of my students came in and took one look at my lunchtime classroom and said, “Liz, I don’t know how you do it,” and we both laughed. The hot chocolate pot was chugging, someone was cutting a snowflake, I was giving a spelling test, a high-schooler came in and had a question about kids’ choir… But for me, I can’t tell you how much I love working with those kids. And then those kids turn into teens and I still love working with them. It’s an area in my life where I had a love for something and the Lord just enhanced it for me. And to be able to do something you really, really love—and do it for the Lord—is really wonderful! All of you have something you can do, be it great or small. You ought to find out what it is and ask the Lord to make you usable for His glory and honor.
3. Ask the Lord to use you. Usually the way it is in most churches is that a few people do most of the work and many people just skate along. Can you imagine what our good church would be like if everyone got that enterprising spirit? Take a little thing like children’s church. Some of you ought to be teaching in there by now. What about a Sunday school class? You can be trained. What about determining with your husband that your family will be the church’s private welcoming committee? There are so many things you can do for the Lord. We must never, never stop doing and thinking of ways to become more involved.
When Jesus was here on earth, He always did far more than the average person would have done. In the garden, I heard a preacher say once, that Jesus “went a little further” when He went to pray. That was right before they captured Him and His trial began and they crucified Him. Surely we can go a “little further” for the Lord. Certainly, as long as we have the health and ability, may God grant us in this New Year that bright, enterprising spirit, that excellent spirit that we need to keep serving the Lord, and never stop!
