“Can you serve Me here”?

4/10/2024

            Several years ago, I was employed at a K-12 private school that was an offshoot of a church.  In a separate part of the school building there was also a very busy pre-school.  My specific job was to provide security for the pre-school teachers from 6:00am – 8:00am, and again from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.  I did not initially mind the hours because I had prayed for a 20-hour work week, which God had graciously provided, but after almost 3 years, I was getting burned out with boredom and drudgery.  Since most of my workdays were mind-bendingly predictable, I had begun to feel that I was not accomplishing much to further God’s Kingdom.

Every weekday for 4 hours in the early mornings and another 4 hours in the late afternoons, I would sit and stare at computer monitors showing the feeds from numerous security cameras.  There was no advantage in wandering around on foot because I could see more from the cameras than I could otherwise, so I felt stuck in a humdrum job.

Since there was a predictable lag time between the first arriving teacher, and the first arriving small child, I got into the early morning habit of walking the darkened gym and praying to God, and this became the best part of my otherwise slow days.  One day, as I was telling God I felt like I was accomplishing nothing of much value to Him, I heard this question pop into my head: “Can you serve Me here?”  And I might note here that only God can hit that hard and not be condemning.  I was immediately humbled, and repented as I received His well-deserved correction.

What I learned from that short, intense confrontation with God was this: When God appoints us to a menial job, He expects us to serve Him just as faithfully (and gratefully) as if He called us to do something of earthly, recognized importance.  Remember, He never really “needed” us; He could have taken care of it without us, but instead, He chose to include us in His work. 

As I write this, I’m thinking a small child with a toy carpenter set “helping” his father on a project.  He may not really be able to help much with his toy tool set, but the father is loving the companionship the child is unknowingly providing.  In short, they are doing a job together, and to the child’s father, doing anything with his son makes him happy.

If you are one who feels forgotten in a job that doesn’t seem important, or if you feel that God is somehow disappointed in you because it appears unimportant to Kingdom work in your estimation, you might want to consider looking at your situation from God’s point of view.

Can you serve Him there?

John