Seek to Serve Him Constantly
Morning Chapel, Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Devotional on Psalm 105:2-7
By Elizabeth Dede
How do we serve God constantly? Western culture is a culture that is self-serving, so it is a difficult charge to serve God constantly.
At Wal-Mart you serve yourself by checking out without the help of a cashier. At the gas pump you serve yourself by pumping the gas without the help of an attendant. The younger ones among us don’t even remember a time when there were attendants at gas stations. At the buffet you serve yourself and eat as much as you want. The examples go on and on.
So how do we serve God constantly? We try to resist the power of the self-serving life. We can serve God by serving others. A few weeks ago I went with John and Evelyn to the Harvest of Hope Food Pantry. Our job that morning was to bag up fresh green beans. A local farmer came with a trailer full of them. Apparently he does this regularly when he has fresh produce. People’s arms were overflowing with food, so much so that they had to have help carrying it to their cars. It was good to know that in addition to the canned food they would also have fresh produce.
This nameless farmer serves God constantly by offering his produce to the poor and needy. I know that God is happy.
God loves to be served. We can also serve God through worship. God loves to hear us sing, even if we can’t carry a tune. So sing loudly when you are at worship. Singing praise to God’s name is service.
It is also important to remember God’s saving acts and to be thankful. We can, like the children of Israel, remember our rescue from slavery and recount those stories.
I was trapped in my depression. I had tried years of therapy, but nothing seemed to help me. Then my friend Michael Galovic took me to the doctor. I was scared to death and wouldn’t have been able to go on my own. Michael gave me such a gift. I got diagnosed and got on medication. Like the children of Israel that we’ve been hearing about in the Old Testament readings, I have fallen back time and again into slavery to my bipolar disorder, but God and my friends are always there to rescue me. So I sing His praise.
God is pleased with our service and worship. Let us go about our day, serving him constantly as we do our work, as we greet each other, as we care for the poor, as we worship and pray, and as we sing loudly, if off-key, to God. Amen.
