It’s amazing how one day can be so up and down, filled with both encouraging and discouraging events. Yesterday was such a day for me.
First, the down part of my day: I met with a woman whose husband recently left her, talked to a man whose marriage is in trouble, was informed that an older adult is leaving our church to attend Elevation Church (that’s right – a “not young” adult), and was concerned that so few people had registered online for our spiritual growth classes that began last night.
Now, the up part of my day: We had great attendance in those spiritual growth classes last night (many classes had 2 to 10 times as many people show up as were registered), the response to my 50 men challenge has been overwhelming (I met with several of them last night for an orientation), a lady I and others have been working with for several months came to church for the first time in a long time last night, the Holy Spirit gave me an idea for a new sermon series that I’m excited about, and both the Lord and my wife still love me.
Why am I sharing this? Because life is full of ups and downs. We hope for more ups than downs, but life has its share of both. If we’re not careful, we’ll allow the downs to defeat us.
A verse I keep coming back to time and time again is I Corinthians 4:2: “it is required of stewards (servants) that one be found faithful” (NKJV).
Our service and obedience to the Lord should not depend on the ups…on how well life is going. We serve and obey because He is our Lord and Savior. We do it because we love Him and love never fails. We do it because quitters never win. We do it because it is the only choice that is both right and ultimately rewarding.
As the Psalmist said, “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2). Even in the midst of the “down” moments of our day and life.
Pastor Steve Hogg
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