“For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:27,NIV)
Recently I shared about having Faith While Waiting for Answers. A friend reminded me that in restaurant industry waiters are also called servers. She commented that we should be seeking ways to serve while we wait.
This notion of serving while waiting presented itself to me in a unique way this week. Our church youth group participated in a progressive dinner. When I learned the theme for the evening was Italian, I dropped off our son and left. I love pasta and bread, but unfortunately, this food combination will trigger an attack of Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis.
Driving home a gnawing feeling rose in the pit of my stomach. What Lord? I prayed. Is this really how you’ve been taught, if you can’t get benefit from an activity than you leave? Go to the preacher’s house. These words downloaded into my brain. I did not hear them audibly but the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to me. I answered back, Okay I’ll go to the preacher’s house (the third stop on the progressive dinner), but Lord if it is okay with you, I’m going to grab a bite to eat at home first.
Beating the youth group bus, I knocked on the front window and waved at the pastor’s wife Sandy, standing in the kitchen. Wiping her hands on a kitchen towel she said, “What are you doing here?” I explained the situation and she grinned.
Less than an hour earlier, she prayed, “Lord, how am I going to serve forty people spaghetti and bread by myself?”
We worked swiftly in the kitchen stirring noodles and sauce and sharing life. It did not matter that I could not eat the meal I was serving or that I lacked the strength to participate in the entire progressive dinner. What mattered was that I responded when I felt the Lord’s prompting.
God will test our obedience in small areas before he will give us grander opportunities Click To Tweet
God will test our obedience in small areas before he will give us grander opportunities. In Amy Carroll’s book, Breaking Up with Perfect, she describes “God’s love language is obedience.” This is a lesson I often remind my middle school children, but this week, it was a lesson God taught me himself.
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” (Luke 16:10, NLT)
What unexpected blessing has God given you, while responding in obedience, when called to serve in your season of waiting?
~April Dawn White
*Scripture is NIV or NLT from Bible Gateway. *Images courtesy of Pixabay. © 2016 April Dawn White, All rights reserved