Servants of God

We know that the plans that God has for our lives are good and are meant  to prosper us as the word of God says in Jeremiah 29:11, the concept of us prospering in life is closely linked to us living out our purpose to our full potentials according to Gods will for our lives. God has given us our purposes through our gifts, this includes many kinds of gifts that we each have some may be discovered and others undiscovered. It is important that we all accelerate towards discovering our gifts and working towards manifesting these gifts in order to live out our true callings which will grant us fulfilling lives. We should always keep in mind that what God has called us to do is relevant for such a time as this and by living it out we would play a great role in uplifting humanity and we would be serving the kingdom of God by bringing Gods vision to life.

Today I want to focus mainly on the type of gifts that contribute to the functioning of the body of Christ, these are gifts such as preaching, teaching, serving, encouraging, the power to heal, etc. Exercising these gifts is beautiful as it sets people from their bondage, gives hope and light to many and ultimately changes lives. However as servants of God there are a lot of challenges we may encounter in our journey but wherever we are in our journey we have to try our best to serve wholeheartedly and be mindful of always making an impact and change using the faith and strength we have at that time.

A great example of a man who served God and made a difference each time he served is given to us in the word of God in 1 Samuel 16: 15-23, here we are told that David was known as a good musician who played the harp so well that whenever an evil spirit was upon Saul they would ask David to play his harp and the evil spirit would flee and leave Saul.The important thing here is to notice that David was no ordinary man nor was he an ordinary musician, verse 18 says " he is also a brave and handsome man, a good soldier, and an able speaker. The Lord is with him". Each time David played his harp he would exercise his gifts through music, there would then be healing, deliverance, freedom and light. His gifts had such a huge impact firstly because the Lord was with him, he allowed the spirit of God to lead him and take charge whenever he played the harp. David as the word says was brave and was a soldier, in the kingdom of God these characteristics are vital as a servant of God because a lot of battles have to be fought and won each and every single day.There are lot of areas in our lives that demand bravery, fighting like a soldier in spirit, waging war against the enemy, planing and strategizing on how to attack and defend yourself from the enemy.

 In my journey I have struggled with mastering what I have listed below, I hope it will be helpful and keep you open minded to these situations.

Serving while feeling as if the anointing of God is not upon you

So, after having discovered what the Lord wanted me to do for his people I was very excited and filled with the holy spirit, I felt powerful through his spirit and I was pumped and ready to take it on. Little did I know that having such a gift came with a lot of responsibilities and  preparation. As a final year student in University last year my studies quickly demanded my attention and took up most of my energy and focus, I was left wanting to serve God but not actually serving God. Soon after that I just did not feel so spiritual anymore, I did not feel Gods' presence the way I did when I first started serving God and this bothered me tremendously because I never ever want to serve God if I do not feel like I am in the right position spiritually to do so. The main reason for this is that I believe that the only way my message will make a difference in peoples' lives is if Gods' anointing is upon me and everything I speak is directly from the Lord, my greatest fear is misleading people by saying things out of my own wisdom instead of Gods wisdom and will. So it did not make sense to me to put out messages for Gods' people whereas I did not feel spiritually fit to do so, speaking Gods word to people is a precious thing, its really special and is something I do not take lightly as it has so many things attached to it such as changing peoples lives and influencing people positively. The only way to do it perfectly is by being lead by Gods spirit and allowing his power to work through your gift as you serve.

After confessing this to a friend of mine who is also a believer she quickly helped me understand that it is possible to serve God even while you are in a place of wilderness spiritually. It is important to keep in mind that God is for us and that he entrusts us with the gifts He has given us, He knows that we can do it, we can serve and make a difference in peoples' lives. So just because you are not feeling well spiritually it does not change the fact that you have the gifts God has placed in you and it does not change that God is with you at that time and that he believes in you. God chose you for a certain task knowing that you would face challenges and that you are not perfect but he also knew that you are more than a conquer and that through you he would save peoples lives and establish justice on earth. We should always pray for God to pour out a fresh anointing on us and strengthen us whenever we feel weak then continue with our tasks diligently.

The word gives us a perfect example of this in  Philippians chapter 1 where Apostle Paul was preaching and sharing the word of God while in prison, this was one of the lowest and most challenging points of his life but through his faith he proclaimed the word of God, influenced and encouraged other prisoners to have the courage to do the same. We learn that even during a dark season of his life Apostle Paul was still serving God the best way he knew how, through preaching the gospel. This is evidence that it is possible to keep going forward even though you are going through some trials in life. I mean come to think of it, life always throws a lot different challenges at us and if were were supposed to stop every time we did not feel strong in spirit then we would not get very far in life and we wouldn't achieve what the Lord wants us to achieve through our ministries. What is mostly required in such times is faith, faith in that the Lord loves us, faith in that he is with us as all times and faith in that he has good plans for us and wants to see us shining our lights  bright and living our full purpose.With that assurance in mind and heart we should press on and serve God wholeheartedly believing that he is with us and is still our light even though we might not feel it.

Romans 12:12 " let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times"

The people around us

The people we allow to be a part of our lives will to a certain extent have an influence on us.

Now as for serving and expressing your gift in accordance to the will of God it is as I've experienced very much important to have close relationships with people who will support and motivate you to always remain obedient to God and submit to his will. As the word of God says in 2 Corinthians 6:14  " do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it can not be done. How can  right and wrong be partners.." this verse basically speaks about being equally yoked with the people you are close with and as the old saying says " show me your friends and I will tell you who you are". At the end of the day the people we surround ourselves with influence us in one way or another so as the word says ''right and wrong can not be partners'' one power has to win or rule because it is impossible for both to rule, the winning of one power means the other will have to submit to it because you can not please two masters.

What I experienced this year is that it is impossible to please God and please the flesh, one has to rule and the kind of friends you choose to be close to will greatly influence that, your habits may start to change as well as the way you view the world. If you have friends that are not seeking after God the same way you are or wish to seek after him, you might start thinking the way they think, viewing things the way they view things and you might end up doing the things they do which may be ungodly and not in line with what you want for yourself. In this kind of situation you have to be brave and stand up for what you believe in by taking action and making the right decisions for yourself.

The truth is that each one of us has the power to take full responsibility for our lives and choices so it is important to discern the spirits of people you allow in your circle and move away from people and things that might be covering your eyes and ears from seeing and hearing God. We have to be brave and separate ourselves from things that cost us our spiritual growth and closeness to God

Planning your schedule  

God is a great God he is like a father to us, I remember last year when I was too busy with my school work and everything else around me that I had not set serving God as my highest priority. God spoke to me and told me firmly that I should learn to plan out my daily schedules carefully and make sure that everyday I included exercising my gifts and working on improving them through prayer, worship, reading the word and sitting at the feet of Jesus. This is important for spiritual growth and for having a great impact on people whenever I serve, just like how David would always change the situation through the spirit of God whenever he walked into a room and started playing his harp.

Staying faithful to God

I think that it is important for us to be faithful to God and try our best to do all that he requires us to do, we have to keep in mind that we are serving God, the great I am, the Lord of hosts, the king of kings.We have to serve him wholeheartedly and keep our end of the promise which may include making sacrifices. We have to pray for hearts that are willing to submit to God so that we allow the Spirit to lead us, resulting in us dying to our flesh and carrying our crosses each and every single day. Romans 12:11 " work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion"
 Another important thing to do is to reverence and obey God, allowing his will to be done through us at all times.

I hope that you find encouragement to keep going and working hard to grow spiritually and serving the Lord accordingly, in his standard. Yes you can do it, allow God to take his place in your life and guide your footsteps at all times. He is for us and wants to see us win against all odds at all times.

Servants of God " Get up and walk"! This is your time.🙌💃💃