Abraham, when he was 99 years old and was "sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day" he "saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried... and bowed low to the ground." He then basically begs them to let him serve them by washing their feet and giving them something to eat. When they agree "Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah" to tell her to make them some bread. "Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant who hurried to prepare it." Genesis 18:1-7 This is just crazy. A 99 year old running around like a little kid to serve these guys. I looked pretty hard for a picture of a really old man running and there are very few. But of course there's not many, when was the last time you saw a 99 year old run? I bet it was cute though, I picture "hurried" as more like a scamper. This got me thinking about serving people and my attitude toward it. Sometime I feel reluctant or draggy. Like Friday night when I was tired and not really wanting to engage. Every Friday night we have around 20 college students over for dinner and discuss questions they have. By God's grace (and because I had nowhere else to go) instead of giving in to my fatigue I pushed through and the reward is sooo worth it! Hearing these students questions and hearing other students answer using scripture when they weren't even walking with God a year ago is amazing. It is like having a front row seat in seeing God change lives. But when I'm tired, I am tempted to give up front row seats for the bathroom. I'm so glad God pushes us to cling to Him for strength and therefore get to reap the rewards of perseverance. I think this also applies to persevering in disciplining my boys. To keep at it when I am tired and it is the 30th time that day, because "later on it will produce a fruit of righteousness." (Heb. 12:11) No matter if I feel like a 99 year old or it's the heat (most exhausting part) of the day, may God enable me (and you too) to run to serve. "because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Cor. 15:58) Oh Lord, please help me be quick like Abraham to serve others. To surrender my rights and be willing to love sacrificially for the benefit of others. Help me give myself fully to your work, trusting that my labor wont be in vain. Faith Filled Friday Blog Link Up We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God, an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, homeschooling, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the Lord somehow. So go ahead and link up below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. Please just let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or put my button code (found below and on the side bar) so they can find these other great people glorifying God and we can continue to grow as a community. Thanks! And in effort to encourage others in their writing by faith, please take a minute to comment on another sweet lady's post. About Laura Laura, the creator and host of Missional Women is married and has four kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 12 years serving with Master Plan Ministries. Laura is the Women's Development Coordinator and has discipled over 150 girls, led over 30 Bible studies and speaks to college and women's groups. Laura has authored 5 books, including an award winning 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and A Devotional Journey through Judges, a devotional to accompany the free online Bible study at TheBookofJudges.com. You can find her on facebook,twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram and her author site. Sharing this over at these awesome blogs.
4 Comments
6/20/2014 12:56:37 am
I want to hurry like that. I want to be like that with my husband - and with God!
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At 66, I have a hard time running!! I, too, would rather hole-up and "not engage" as you say. And when I do, I, too, am blessed. It just happened this morning in our grocery parking lot. I engaged with a woman who needed more than I knew when I first went to her. I am so grateful I did.
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6/21/2014 04:11:18 pm
What a sweet photo of an elderly couple hurrying and holding hands. Abraham and Sara must have also been quite a pair! Thank you for hosting your lovely site
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In all my years of reading this story, I never saw what you pulled out here. I love that about God's word and how we read it. There are so many facets, almost as if a jewel held up to the light, and it's this that reminds me that the Word is fresh, even when I'm squinting to see it that way. Thank you for joining us at Unforced Rhythms.
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Welcome!I'm Laura the founder of Missional Women and this is my sweet friend, Lyli. We host a link up for bloggers every Friday and look forward to having you join us. But before you go, look around, we are here to glorify God and be a blessing to you.
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