Hi friend,
If you’ve read “How to Avoid Christian Burnout” you know that I have struggled with how to serve the Lord and others. It is exciting to live on this Earth with the mission to serve with our talents, but sometimes it is hard to know how to do that best.
Here are some things that help me serve the Lord better:
1. Take a quiz on spiritual gifts.
There are free quizzes online that can help you get new ideas for how to serve God. Use these quizzes as a way to inspire you to help others in creative ways.
2. Talk to the people closest to you on what gifts they see in you.
It can be empowering to hear from others because we are always our harshest critics!
For example, I tend to have a great memory for what people have told me. I used to think it was weird if I remembered a specific detail from a previous conversation and asked the person about it again (how a new job was going, a specific class in school, etc). I was so self-conscious about this, that I would pretend like I didn’t remember these things about a person. It wasn’t until one of my friends told me it was a strength of mine! This sweet friend wrote in my high school yearbook how loved and cared for she felt by me when I remembered these things. Now, I see this characteristic of mine as a gift that I can use to help others feel known.
3. Grow in your desire to serve through Bible study.
You can read some ideas I have for how to do that here. It is so important that we have a desire to serve and find joy in it first. While it may not always be easy to choose others on our hardest days, we can find joy in how much the Lord has changed our heart to love serving. It has been crucial to my journey of faith and servanthood to understand why we are called to serve. We don’t do these things out of obligation or to “earn” our way into heaven, but to share the Lord’s amazing love with His people.
4. Pray about it!
A few months ago while walking a prayer labyrinth, the Lord called me to be more aware of how to serve others in my daily life. He reminded me that I can pursue the things I desire in life while also serving others. Now, I am so much more aware of little things I can do to show love to others. Some days it may be as simple as letting the cashier know how impressed I am with how she is handling the lunch rush. Other days, it may mean running across campus to pick up something my friend forgot, even when I was already rushing myself. It can be so simple, but every day there are things I can do to love and serve others.
5. Take time to take care of yourself and remember that you can say “no.”
Serving the Lord does not mean we do everything that everyone asks of us. We don’t serve everyone, we serve God, and our Heavenly Father knows we aren’t perfect. Sometimes being helpful can be as simple as making a suggestion that someone else may be better suited for a project. We are not at the mercy of others and saying “no” in no way diminishes our worth or ability to be loved by others or by God. It is so important to still feel joy in serving others. You can serve in whatever way the Lord calls you to in each season of your life.
How crazy is it that the Lord knew you were needed in this world with your own set of gifts to love and serve others? We truly are called to a greater purpose while here! Take some time to think about what that means to you right now.
How can you serve best? How do you avoid overextending yourself?
Peace and blessings,
Shaina
