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Disciplined Service

John 12:26
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
In all honesty, I had no idea what the Lord was attempting to convey to me through this verse as I read it for the first time, the second time, and even the third time. Even after prayer and meditation, still I was left dry and without words. Then the Lord told me to read Hebrews, which is something He has been urging me to do for a quite a while. Immediately, I was drawn to Hebrews 12:10-11 which says, “…but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Discipline has been a reoccurring theme for me during these past few weeks, whether it be from being disobedient or simply from not wanting to do what has been asked of me. Being rebuked is something I have never been fond of because instead of accepting it, I tend to try and reason in my head why I am right and why the person rebuking me is wrong. Yet, God says, “humble yourself, listen, and obey.” Just as the verse says, discipline is not pleasant when it is being received, but when we are faithful to humble ourselves, listen, and obey, we are able to see the vision in which discipline brings forth for the future. What does this have to do with serving the Lord? If there is no discipline, there is no servant. The Lord calls us to be servants, but if we are not disciplined in completing what is being asked of us, then we are not serving Him, we are disobeying Him. I have never been one to serve willingly, but during my time here, the Lord has been humbling me to realize that the tedious tasks I do are for Him. Whether it be cleaning the same sanctuary twice a week or deep cleaning the kitchen for it to be dirtied again during dinner that same night, at least I have a clean place to worship and a delicious meal to eat everyday. The Lord has given me an incredible opportunity to take advantage of during this season of my life and with that comes the responsibility of caring for what He has provided to me. 

Application
Today, I will write “humble yourself, listen, obey” on my arm as a reminder that it is not always about me.

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