The following is a guest post from Joy Collado.
One of the best ways for us to serve God is to offer our services in our church. Our faiths and fellowship with others are strengthened and renewed.
I’ve often dreamed of working for our local church. Perhaps you can call me a “church lurker.” I go to church religiously, sit there and sing praises, listen to the sermon, and then go home. I always thought, I wished there was a way for me to serve God more than sitting in the pew and listening to the pastors.
An opportunity came when members voted for me as the new treasurer for our local church. Since then, I was also given the chance to speak and share with other members. I noticed that my eagerness to go to church doubled when I started participating.
But My Serving Experience Is Not Always Bliss
When I became as a treasurer, I was apprehensive at first because it’s a big responsibility. Aside from my freelance online business, I also manage a brick and mortar family business. And I also sneak in writing novels.
But I took the responsibility as an appointment from God, so I accepted it. However, after several Sabbaths, I noticed that my time for prayer and praise were lessened. Yes, I was still religiously attending church. But I spent less time singing and praying.
What Happened?
Our local church was raising funds for some projects. Excited church members came to me to offer their pledges. As it turned out, I was busy counting money, tallying, and recording on who gave how much.
As everybody stood and the songs were sung I sat in the pew recording on my notebook. I felt awkward at first, but I figured this is my job. Maybe God won’t mind.
And that didn’t end there. In the morning before the services, I recorded tithes and offerings from the previous Sabbath. That made me late for church services. I had a week to do this, but I didn’t. Because I told myself I’m busy.
I wanted to organize things and put them into proper perspective. I didn’t want to resign from my job because, as fate would have it, no other church members wanted the position. And because I saw the job as an appointment from God, it didn’t quite sit well with me to leave it.
The Remedy
1. Prayer
I prayed to God to help me discern the matter. I prayed with an open heart and mind asking for wisdom.
2. Time Management
After much thought and prayers, I found the strength to look into my life and analyze which areas I had to improve.
I made a promise to myself to record the tithes and offerings later in the day after each church service. No need to wait for the next Sabbath morning to come. When I got to church earlier than usual, church members can come to me before the services started. That means I didn’t have to count and record money during the service.
3. Bible Promises
There are lots of Bible promises that I love, but this one is my favorite when it comes to my work:
John 17:4
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Giving my service to our church was a dream for me. And when the opportunity came, like I said, I took it as a sacred appointment from God. Being able to do the work with my best effort is a way for me to honor Him.
And I’m glad that by doing it properly, I can go back to singing and praying to Him in the church.
4. Ask for help
I didn’t have to ask much help from other people because it was an issue of my self discipline and time management. But if you find yourself volunteering in the church and you feel overwhelmed, this is the best advice I can give.
There might be other church members that want to help, too. You never know. Openly ask for volunteers. This way, you’re also giving others the chance to serve the Lord.
Giving our service to our local church shouldn’t steal your private time with Christ. By doing our work in their proper time and place, we not only give glory to God, but we also give ourselves the time of rest and contemplation we need. The time we need to be with Him, away from the cares of the world.
Did you ever volunteer for church work? How did it turn out?
About Joy Collado: Joy Collado is a freelance writer and loves exploring and writing about personal development. Visit her blog Joys of a Digital Nomad to read more of her thoughts about living and making a difference.
Photo Credit: Alex (Creative Commons)
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