Reporting for Service
“There is no comfort in anything apart from enjoying thee
and being engaged in thy service.”The Valley of Vision, p. 4
This line is from a sixteenth century Puritan’s prayer. The book Valley of Vision is full of some incredible prayers to and devotional reflections on God. This one stood out to me and I go back and read this line often because something about it really resonates in my heart.
It is easy to get mechanical in a routine of life, and not really feel a lot of satisfaction about the details of the day. But I’ve been convicted at this ungodly attitude in my own life because apathy can creep in or complacency take root in my heart and keep me in a joyless robotic fulfilling of duties.
What I love so much about this quote is the intense wording used. No comfort in anything apart from enjoying thee and being engaged in thy service. What a great example this is for me, that I shouldn’t just maintain and get by. I need to be focused, wholeheartedly clocked in all hours for Him each day.
Last week my husband wrote a blog called “24/7 Christianity”. This is something Bobby talks about often seeing the danger of viewing Christianity as a “part-time job.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 says,
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that you labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Bobby wrote about this verse:
“Always” means with 100% of our time. “Fully” means with 100% of our hearts and effort. The Lord’s work demands everything that we have.
When I read this I went back and looked up the Puritan quote because I remembered that was the heart in the quote above–engaged in service. We are to be 100% pledged, 100% involved in laboring to serve the Lord. If this is what God wants from me, I want to do it! The greatest enjoyment and comfort is found in obeying Him.
When Bobby was on his recent trip in Israel, he and the team documented the ten days with daily videos. There was one part of one the videos that Tyler loved and we would watch it over and over again. In the clip there is just a few seconds of a walkie-talkie exchange between our good friend Brad Smith and Pastor Pete:
Brad: B-dog reporting for service.
Pastor Peter: B-dog, you are all about service.
Brad: Copy that.
Let’s report for service as a way of life and not try to be on and off duty. Always giving ourselves fully to His work!
June 2nd, 2008
What a great post Christa. I really enjoyed Bobby’s post on 24/7 Christianity too. It can be so easy to think ministry is something we do in our scheduled ministry timeslot. But really, we should be ready to “report for duty” during all hours of the day. I’m going to copy the words to that Puritan prayer as a reminder of that fact. Thanks for sharing!
June 4th, 2008
It’s always good to reminder to be enjoy God in our service instead of viewing it as a routine or rut. I was thinking about a verse from Psalm 127 that Pastor Mike shared in staff meeting today, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” There is much enjoyment when we’re engaged in working according to God’s will!
I saw you updated your “About Me” page and can’t believe you’ve been blogging consistently every month since 2004! What a great example of always giving yourself fully to the praise of God on this site!
June 11th, 2008
What a great reflection on a though-provoking quote…Awesome!
June 16th, 2008
Christa,
I hope you are doing great! Kara and I are in NorCal now. Keep up the posts. I love hearing about Tyler.
July 8th, 2008
Christa… It has been quite a long time since you have posted. Is everything alright? Just wondering if maybe you have a different site that you blog on now.
July 9th, 2008
Hi Christa, Hope your family is doing well and you are having a great summer together.
July 17th, 2008
Christa, may I make a request for your next book review? “the Shack” by William P Young. I have only read a portion, and I was shocked that it has garnered such rave reviews.