For too long in my walk with Christ, I waited for the right moment to serve Him. Surely there would be a great clap of thunder to announce that it was now my time or perhaps people would just start showing up asking for me. Visions of grandeur, it would seem, actually have little place in the kingdom of God! Yet, through the years I have discovered I was not alone in this delusion. I have met many others who, like me, were just waiting for the right time or for the right set of circumstances before launching into their ministry for Jesus.
Waiting for the right time, it turns out, is a misnomer. Each and every moment of the day is the right time for you to serve God by serving and loving others. So if every moment is the right time, that means that every moment we spend waiting for the “right time”, is a moment wasted. By waiting for the perfect time, we are actually choosing to ignore that the perfect time is now. God calls us to serve Him now, but we argue that it would be better for us to wait. How foolish we must appear to our Holy God. How sad must He be as He watches the countless moments squandered by proud humans who claim to know better? Serve God at the right time in your life, but realize that the right time is now.
Another common problem I have lived and observed is the desire to go it alone. Surely no one else holds our same convictions, so we have no choice, right? True Christianity is all about community; it’s about coming along side our brothers and sisters and helping each other along the way. Jesus chose twelve men to walk with him every day. Paul chose to have a travelling companion whenever possible. Moses had Aaron. All through the Bible I see stories of servants of God coming along side of each other to multiply their effectiveness and to encourage each other. It’s important to surround yourself with others who are striving to live as Jesus did. When you are weak or when you fall, they will pick you up; and when they are weak and fall, you’ll do the same for them. Choose the right people to walk with you on your quest to follow Jesus.
Finally, we need to make very certain that we are serving Christ for the right reason. It’s easy to serve Christ for the feeling of self accomplishment, to build your esteem in the eyes of your church or to impress others. If we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus for any reason other than our love for Him or our desire to serve Him, we may as well stop because Jesus sees what is in our hearts. He calls us to serve Him with all of our hearts. If we have an ulterior motive we again seem to be saying that we know better. If our worship and sacrifice are not pure, they will be rejected by God. That is a terrifying thought. Serve God out of gratitude for what He did for you, and out of love for everyone around you. Do it for the right reason, or don’t bother doing it at all.
Devote your entire life to nothing less than service for the One who gave everything He had for you. The time is now, serve Him. Take others along with you on the journey and watch God multiply your ministry. Keep your heart right with God all along the way. Focus on Christ at all times. Serve God for the right reason, at the right time and with the right people.