Friday Fight 78 - Measuring our Community Capacity
Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help us fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF78.
Happy Fall, Y'all! We are coming to a time of year when our calendars are filling quickly, and the busyness of life can posture a different mindset if we are not careful. Christians are called to love God and people by walking in the community with others. So as we celebrate the births of those we love and enjoy holidays in all their splendor and blessings, why do we suddenly feel annoyed when we think of helping even one more person?
Measuring our Community Capacity:
We serve God and people throughout the year by walking in alongside those in need, doing life together. Helping a friend move, offering a spare room, or preparing a meal are all part of walking in community with others. God constantly works in and through us to bring healing in many directions, often beginning with us. Although serving God by serving others looks differently for each of us. My pastor, Robert Hilson, describes a servant's heart as "Someone who is consistently and naturally oriented towards caring for the needs of others over their own."
What happens when our servant's heart slowly changes, and we politely dismiss the struggles of those around us? So often, our servant's heart can gradually shift without us realizing it. This post is to initiate reflection and spiritual awareness in this area.
As we enter the coming season, we need to ensure that the lies of darkness aren't falsely filling our community capacity. Past hurts or triggers often cause us to focus internally rather than externally. Perhaps at times, it feels as though some people only call us when they need something while we walk alone, but are those thoughts real? The Bible says it is better to give than receive. Therefore, we focus on God when we feel the slightest bit discouraged by helping others. Serving God by serving others is like tithing; we give our time and resources in surrender and obedience to our Heavenly Father.
How does darkness operate? Satan cleverly lies through a slow progression of the following fabrications. These mindset changes are subtle and may include these examples:
- I can't help when I have never struggled in this area
- Helping this person will impact my family
- It's time to focus on me
- This person only calls when they need help
- My capacity for community with others is full; I am done!
Whenever these negative thoughts enter our minds, let's take time to reflect and pray, asking God to show us what's real. We are not helping people and serving others for ourselves or them; we do to honor our Heavenly Father. I learned a beautiful lesson about this from my older brother. Last year I called him to ask for help in a struggling area of my life. Before our conversation ended, he said he would be hurt if he found out I needed help and didn't call him. I was reminded of this when writing this post.
I learned the value of walking with a servant's heart from my parents, particularly my mom. I watched as they generously offered their time, meals, clothing, a room in our childhood home, and even a car. My mom, Martha Lane, graciously surrenders each day, petitioning God on behalf of everyone else. I dedicate this post to her life of surrender in loving God and people. Thank you for being an example of humbly walking with grace and continually honoring God by serving others.
Pastor Shannon
New Life Calvert