Serving God in everyday life – a woman’s perspective
Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 1:17)
What do we mean by everyday life? For most women this will certainly centre round the home, but may also include going out to work and reaching out into the wider family or local community. It is a mixture of responsibilities, relationships and use of our God given-gifts, and will vary greatly according to the stage of life we are at. For single women, work will feature large and sometimes appear to take over one’s life. For married women with children, the daily routines will be many, and juggling to keep everything going foremost in the mind. For women who are again single, whether retired or widowed, the lack of the hustle and bustle of daily life brings its different pressures.
But for all of us there are three areas in which we can serve the Lord:
1. We have responsibilities that God has given us. Although these will vary, Scripture is clear about what these are in the areas of marriage, motherhood, our homes and any work we do, and in the wider family such as parents and grandparents.
2. We have relationships to consider, most importantly our
relationship to God and his Son. This will colour everything else and is
the one that gets pushed out in the busyness of everyday life. Also we
do not live in isolation, but rub shoulders with those within our home
and the world outside. The Bible tells us a lot about how we should
relate to one another summed up by the command to love one another as
ourselves.
3. We have our God-given gifts that make us the unique person we are and enable us to serve him in different ways. These may be creative gifts, in kitchen, garden or artistic areas, or hospitality, or caring, or manual dexterity, or intellectual areas. These may be part of our everyday life at home or at work or part of our leisure time.
How can we serve God in these areas?
- First we must accept the circumstances God has put us in and the gifts he has given us. This is very hard sometimes when we feel tired, and see others doing what seem much more worthy things, or when we feel lonely and no longer of any use to the Lord. Once we accept our situation the frustration that can so easily get us down will disappear and we can begin to look at how the Lord wants us to serve him where we are.
- Then we should be good stewards of the responsibilities and gifts God has given us. We are to be diligent and faithful, but also wise. Sometimes Christians are so concerned to be good stewards that they can become too perfectionist, too busy, and this is where wisdom comes in, to bring a balance. Not all the servants in the parable had ten talents. We should never strive to imitate others, but rather work out our own areas of service before the Lord.
- Then we are to foster Christian characteristics, particularly remembering the fruit that the spirit imparts to us as we abide in Christ, of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. It is these that will be most apparent to the communities in which we live out our daily lives.
In all these areas we live in contrast to the world around us, where everything is centred around oneself. God-given responsibilities and relationships are denied. People live for themselves. This is the motivating factor. They pursue happiness, health, wealth, pleasure, fame and freedom from stress. This colours their everyday life.
So lastly we should always be looking for opportunities to speak a word in season, maybe to those around us who find that life does not fulfil their expectations. Or if we are older we can encourage others who are finding daily life a trial and pray for them.
As Christian women, we do not live for ourselves but for our Lord Jesus who saved us and gave us a new life and has given us his spirit to help us live for him each day. Not only that, we live our lives as members of the body of Christ which both supports us and gives a wider context for our service for him. Certainly there are the activities of Satan, our own sinful nature and the circumstances in the world all competing to take our eye off the Lord, but none of these can overcome the grace of God within us to live for him each day.