Today I am continuing my last post, Just a Volunteer…and Other Accusations from My Inner Wimp. 

Here I am still prepping work for the upcoming Writer’s Conference. I want to pull my brains out of my ears I am so twisted up with proofing. My Inner Wimp chimes in, “You know you missed something that is going to make you look like an idiot.” All morning My Inner Wimp has been nagging me, “You’re just wasting your time to go to that conference again this year. You’ll never be…more than a volunteer.”

Stopping me in my tracks this morning, I got a Holy Spirit nudge take a moment learn from Jesus, Washer of feet and Saver of souls. “Who are you going to listen to? Me or your Inner Wimp?

Whose voice do you heed?

Why is it when we are feeling crunched and most need to hear from God that we think we are too busy?

I am so glad I listened to that little God-nudge! Here are a few observations that God used remind me of the value of serving, preparing my heart to walk confidently into that crowded conference room a few days from now.

  A Secure Identity

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet…“–John 13:3-5

• Being before doing—Jesus knew who He was and what God had given Him to do.
• The meaning was in the service and the example; Jesus wasn’t worried about achieving a particular result.
• Jesus volunteered his heart and his hands in serving others.
• In regard to washing the disciples’ feet–few noticed, but the world was never the same.

So what does all of this have to do with attending conferences, trying to get a book published, and getting rid of My Inner Wimp? What does this have to do with any act of our service?

• When I am secure in my Christ-given identity, I am better able to serve others, even in a task like writing.
• I know what God has given me to do for this season.
• I can focus on the act and heart of service, rather than worrying about the outcome–especially important when sitting across the table from a publisher.
• Never lose the heart of serving and writing in the lure of being noticed and gaining success.
• Large numbers count in the world’s economy, but God tallies value on an entirely different scale.

Maybe your acts of service look a little different. God has shaped us all with different gifts, skills, and experiences. He breaks forth from our hearts with differing desires and unique callings. Some service is humble and little noticed, but oh, so valuable in the Father’s eyes. Some places of service are huge; we find ourselves trying to cover chasms of need with Band-Aids and feeble efforts.

Tasks may be large or small, but the humility of service is the heart of a volunteer.

This is what I need to remember when I walk into that crowded conference room Sunday afternoon.

So much more than a volunteer.

This is the value and the truth that puts my Inner Wimp to rest, so I can enter boldly with the heart of one who serves the God Most High.

In what ways are you more than a volunteer? How do you put your Inner Wimp to rest?

Like this post if you are more than a volunteer!