Focused or Fuzzy?

My daughter, Maribel, is a gifted photographer. Her pictures of her family always grab your interest. Some people take pictures that are just blah. The subjects are too far away, or there are too many things in the way, or they are out of focus. Maribel composes each shot artistically, in a way that grabs your eye and directs attention to the very thing she wants to share – a smile, a dimple. She uses her photos to communicate and they say, “Look at this!” Instead of just ‘taking pictures,’ she uses her camera to tell a story. She what she wants to ‘say’ and she gets the shot that does it.

Think about this disciple. Is your service to God focused or fuzzy?
Do you do what you do in His service with a clear sense of mission and purpose?

This week I have been praying and thinking at length about the places where I can serve Him in my world. Needs are everywhere! There is the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Two earthquakes, in Haiti and Chile, have created multiple needs. There is the whole issue of human trafficking and sexual slavery. Working against poverty and for justice are important to God, and therefore must be important to me. Then, too, there are millions who have yet to hear the Gospel, who need someone to tell them about the love of God found in Christ Jesus. If I try to zoom out and ‘take a picture’ of the whole wide world of need, most likely I will end up doing nothing for anyone! To simply say, “I will serve God” is a commitment that is too broad.

Need, alone, cannot drive our service. Each of us who would serve Him well and effectively must determine our calling. Our prayer must be “Lord, what do You want me to do? Where do You want me to serve?” Sometimes finding the place to which He is calling us is more challenging than deciding to serve, isn’t it? One key to living on purpose, clearly focused and effective, is found in the story of young Samuel’s call. Take a look.

"Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”


Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”


Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:4-10, NIV)

Samuel was eager to serve, but he was not yet on intimate terms with the Lord, thus he confused the Lord’s voice with the other authority figure in his life, Eli! Only when he was re-directed to listen carefully, did the vision for his life come clearly to him. Do you know the Lord, or simply about Him? Are you listening carefully to the Spirit or are all the messages that come your way second-hand, coming through a preacher or a book? Those who serve with real focus have spent time waiting, listening, and hearing from God.

Disciple, are you feeling the weight of need pressing on you?
Is your heart breaking with the things that break the heart of God?

Good! Now, ask the Spirit to bring focus, to aim you in the right direction. Don’t try to calculate. Faith lifts us over what we think is possible. Don’t look for recognition. Much of that which will find God’s commendation is hidden from human eyes. Don’t look for ‘easy.’ Just say, “Yes, Lord. Speak, am I listening.”

Here’s a word from the Word. Jesus invites us to "Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you." (Matthew 11:29, The Message)

____________________

I'll say,"Yes, Lord, yes,"
To Your will and to Your way.
I'll say,"Yes, Lord, yes."
I will trust You and obey.
When the Spirit speaks to me,
With my whole heart I'll agree.
And my answer will be,
"Yes, Lord, yes."

If I never knew the fullness
Of living in Your will,
I would never know how rich
My life could be.
Lord, my willingness to serve
Is the least that You deserve,
For the blessings
You have showered over me.

Yes, Lord, Yes
Keesecker, Lynn

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