God does not really care what mood you’re in today, if you have been commanded to serve, you will serve. Many who claim Jesus Christ as Lord seem to have forgotten the title “King” and what it implies, Kings do not care about your emotional state when you have been ordered to perform a task, they are at times willing to listen to your problems, but they are of little concern when it comes time to fulfill your duties.
This continuing age of grace has degenerated into a pseudo form of a partnership, we serve when we feel like it, when we have the time, when our personal desires and those things of the world that we believe are oh so important are completed. Kings do not accept well the leftovers. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30) Find something in those four words that says anything besides “you will put Me first all the time.”
If you do not arrive when the King calls, you may end up like Queen Vashti, (Esther 1:19) forgotten save for a few short remarks, but when you do respond, you may become as Mephibosheth, who “did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.” (2 Sam. 9:13) One was strong in a great position of power at the time, the other could barely walk, one was defiant because of her position and stature, the other was weak and physically damaged. One was filled with pride, the other with humility, one feared the King, the Queen, not so much.
How you feel emotionally today has little to do with what you have been called to do, and it makes no difference if it is Sunday morning or Tuesday afternoon, we are to serve.
This personal relationship that many claim to have with the Lord Jesus Christ has become too personal, they have started to view Him as less than what He is, Holy, Righteous and King. They believe this grace that they are now in gives them freedoms that they truly do not have. “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” (1 Peter 2:16) The humble servant is always humble, he expects no more than the strength to do what has been placed before him, he seeks no reward for performing what he has been commanded to do, (Luke 17:10) he does what has been set before him, and when the task is complete, he studies the Word of God to prepare more efficiently for the next task that will be placed before him, while at the same time applying all that he has been taught in whatever way that can further glorify God. It matters very little if he feels like it or not.
We have forgotten who it is we serve and why, but we will be reminded. Think of this short letter as a wake-up call, use it as a moment of reflection, how much of you really is a humble and obedient servant, always willing and ready when the Master calls, and how much of you lives your life for your own pleasures and pursuits.
I have learned an important lesson since the day a few years ago when I got out of my vehicle and yelled up at the sky “Use me!” I have found that my only joy comes when I am being used, no matter my emotional state. When I perform the tasks that He has laid before me it does not change my frustration to contentment, it does not turn my sorrow to happiness, it drives me toward preparation for the next task at hand, He draws me closer each day, and each day I cannot find enough of Him to fill my soul. That is a good thing. You have a choice, it is called free will, the Lord forces virtue on no man, but no one who tastes the Lord (Psalm 34:8) can ever find enough of Him to be satisfied.