What We Are Created For…

By: Jerry Frank

Isaiah 58:6-7

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

We don’t help people because it causes us to feel good, gives us satisfaction, even because it helps them out. We do it because God commanded it. If you read all of Isaiah 58, you see where God has called us to obedience in actions. As humans, we like to turn these into rituals and formulas. Most people like the same ol’ same ol’. 

When we commit our lives to the Lord, He calls us to walk in obedience to His Spirit. If you have never committed your life to the Lord, this devotion is not directed towards you, but can give you a glimpse of what is available to you in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s kinda like window shopping, but you never get the advantage of the purchased product. 

By this example, you might have figured out that I am not a millennial. I’m a baby boomer. I’ve had a relationship with the Lord for almost 40 years and I have been married 37 years. Our relationship is not typical, we don’t fit any molds and we have grown used to that. 

Thayne asked for me to share a devotion on serving others. The problem is, many people are looking for a formula, but I want to talk about a relationship. In this verse in Isaiah, it tells us what to do. Listening to the Holy Spirit tells us how. It’s not a matter of if we should do something, but how we should do it. The problem with examples is that some people want to follow the example and not hear personally from God. I believe God has put in each one of us a desire that only He can fulfill. Through this desire, God provides our satisfaction. God tells us and puts it in us so we don’t have to drum it up on our own. We just have to walk with God. I have seen these examples in other people, the tangible expression of what God put in them. 

One friend sends thank you notes and short notes of encouragement in the mail that touch people. Another friend grows a garden just so he can give vegetables away. Another helps people move. All of these friends have a passion put in them by God that is fulfilled by their acts of serving. The romance is gone for a lot of them because of the passage of time, but the passion burns as hot as ever, but that’s a whole other topic. 

Have you found the enjoyment of being used by God in what He created you to do?

Tip for Today: Find one way to serve a neighbor that brings you joy and will serve as a blessing to them as well.

Jerry & Greta Frank live in Salina, KS, and have been good friends with Thayne and Janene for over 10 years. Faith in action embodies their faith philosophy and determines their involvements and interactions with people in work, church, and everyday life.