Serve With Purpose: 7 Benefits of Serving Others
In January, I always pray and seek God for a word that would be my theme for the year. This year, my word is "serve." That seems like a vague word, but it has been meaningful as I've applied it to different parts of my life.
Serving others (and even ourselves) isn't about depleting who we are but helps develop our giftings even more. Ephesians 4:1 says, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.." Matthew 20:26 says, "If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others." This means that true greatness comes from a servanthood lifestyle.
We have all been equipped with gifts and abilities and called by God to use those gifts as He sees fit. In some situations, God calls us to do something we don't feel equipped to do. That's when He wants us to rely on Him, and when we do, He graces us with what we need.
7 Benefits of Serving
Serving allows you to discover and develop other "gifts."
We learn the best when we are doing something. As I stated above, God equips the called. God often just wants your obedience – your "yes!" Once He has that, He will grace you with the ability to do whatever He has called you to do. Now, God probably won't call you to do something outside your capabilities. For example, suppose you don't have a natural ability to sing. In that case, God probably has not called you to be a worship leader. However, if you have a gift for music and singing and a heart for worship yet have never led worship before, He might call you to step out of your comfort zone and into something that will take His help to accomplish.
Serving allows you to be in the middle of miracles.
Serving others often means praying for them or being led to do something for them. When you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit's promptings, He will direct you to be the answer someone is praying for. A little boy got to be right in the middle of a miracle as Jesus fed the 50000 with his little lunch. You never know what God can do with your obedience and desire to serve.
How many of us would deny Jesus what we had in our hands because, in our eyes, it's too small and insignificant? The little boy could have thought that about his lunch – that's undoubtedly what the disciples were thinking! But we need to remember that with God, all things are possible. He can turn whatever we possess into something great if we let Him take it and bless it.
Serving allows you to experience joy and peace.
The Bible says that it is more blessed to give than to receive. We would all testify of examples when that was true in our lives. Giving is so much fun, but giving as the Lord directs is even more fun!
Has God ever put it on your heart to give something to someone, and when you did, you found out it was exactly what they wanted or needed? What joy to be a part of blessing someone else!
Serving allows you to be more like Jesus.
Although Jesus is God in the flesh, He humbled himself to be in the likeness of man, came into the world, and was a servant. Ultimately, He was a servant to God, but He also served man as well. Jesus is our example of how we are to act. We serve God above anyone or anything else and then serve others. This type of serving comes from a heart of love and adoration for others. It allows us to be led by compassion, just like Jesus.
Serving keeps negativity away.
When you are thinking of others above yourself, you will be happier. We tend to be more negative when we dwell on ourselves and only care about how others serve us. Have you ever found that when you think about yourself and life's busyness, you start to feel overwhelmed and defeated? However, when you focus on serving others, your negative outlook disappears. Serving really is the best way to get out of a "funk!"
Serving allows you to increase your faith.
Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Serving Him takes faith. God wants to take you on a tremendous adventure with Him – one that requires your total faith in Him as you listen to His promptings and obey His voice. Those two little steps of listening and obeying seem so simple – and they are! But it takes a lot of faith to listen and obey, especially when your flesh wants to do the opposite. However, the more you do it, the more your faith will grow.
Serving refreshes your soul.
One of the last trips we took as a family when our kids were still under our roof was on a mission trip to Belize. During that time, we served in many different capacities. We put on a VBS, helped at a school (actually teaching the lessons because the teacher didn't show up), and fixed the church building. It was a trip full of serving in a less-than-ideal setting. In fact, the sewage of the church actually emptied into the backyard of the church.
Before this trip, we had gone on a Disney vacation – spending time at Disney World and then a Disney Cruise, and we had taken an extensive road trip to New York and Washington DC. During that trip, we did so many fun and amazing things. We honestly had the best time together.
So, upon coming home from the mission trip, we asked our kids which trip was their favorite out of all the vacations/trips we had taken. The answer pleasantly surprised me when all three kids said the mission trip was their favorite. Why? They were serving instead of being served. We all returned from that trip more refreshed than on other vacations because our souls were happy. We were doing what we were created to do – serve.
Your Turn
What has God put on your heart to do? How can you serve your family, your church, and your community? Never think that what you have to give is too small or insignificant for God. The smallest act of service is sometimes the most impactful to others and to God.
Ask yourself every day, who is one person you can be a blessing to today? Who could you send a card, a text, or call and encourage? Who needs you to show up as the best version of yourself today?
