Feb. 8th, 2012
David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to serve regularly before the ark of the Lord’s Covenant, doing whatever needed to be done each day. I Chronicles 16:37
In this chapter David leads the worshiping congregation to celebrate, bring offerings, and sing a most beautiful song to God; which occupies the majority of this chapter. As he nears the end of the celebration and chapter, he appoints leaders and workers to attend to the needs of the Ark, the temple, the tabernacle that remains in Gibeon, and the musical instruments. It is in this context I was struck with verse 37, especially the last part – doing whatever needed to be done each day. It would have been pretty cool to serve the Lord in front of the Ark, that physical reminder of the presence of God – and pretty uninspiring to do whatever else needed to be done each day.
I suspect that most jobs have parts that are pretty cool, fulfilling, maybe even exciting – but most jobs also have some mundane, daily, plain, ordinary, maybe even messy parts that still need attention. I know my job does. As much as I love the corporate worship, the buzz of people, the love of children, the craft of writing and preaching…I know that the trash needs emptying, the floors need mopping, the doors need locking, the candles need replacing, the carpets need vacuuming, the bulletins need folding, the music needs rehearsing, etc. I’m thankful I don’t have to do all those things – but I know I must be willing to do all those things! I can’t just serve in front of the Ark, and overlook the less glamorous parts. I know that leaders are people who “show up” – and I need to lead in the servant role as well as in the leader role.
Today I want to show up and just do whatever needs to be done. I don’t want to complain about how busy I am, or how hard I work, or how tired I think I am – I just want to serve Jesus in great and humble ways. Emptying the trash and doing the dishes might not seem as important as leading worship – but they are – at least in God’s Kingdom. Lord Jesus, help me to serve you with humility in the more glamorous parts of my job – and with honor in the daily, more mundane parts – apparently they are one and the same to you!