What Blessing Is There In Serving God?

   “Your words have been arrogant against Me, says the LORD. Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the LORD of hosts?’” (Mal. 3:13-14). You’ve heard people talk this way. Something to the effect of, “I don’t want to be a Christian because I couldn’t do anything fun.” Another is, “There are too many rules. I think God wants me to be happy.” As though someone serving God couldn’t be happy. Maybe that’s all they have seen or perceive of what it means to serve God. We know that is not the truth.

In the book of Proverbs, there is a plethora of blessings to the upright and for those that are obedient and practice clean living. “The hope of the righteous is gladness” (10:28). “The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright” (10:29). “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life” (11:30). “A good man will obtain favor from the LORD” (12:2). “In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence” (14:26). “But He hears the prayer of the righteous” (14:29). “He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life, righteousness and honor” (21:21). “But the blameless will inherit good” (28:10). “A faithful man will abound with blessings” (28:20).

There are many more, but these highlight the idea that God is trying to share with us. We are truly blessed in our service to Him. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John. 10:10). So many people see God as the thief. They see Him as the one that is taking away the “fun,” but they have been deceived to be slaves of the flesh. Paul says, “In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:2-3). If people can’t see the blessing in serving God, then they are staring off into the darkness and trapped in serving and only making provisions for the flesh (Rom. 13:14).

How do we keep our focus on the blessings that lie ahead? We continue in faithful service. There will always be days that the “body” does not want to serve. In that moment, we must visualize what is at stake. Those moments are the battles we fight so we can win the war. After a decisive victory over the Philistines, Samuel “took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us’” (1 Sam. 7:12). Every battle we win is a testament to God’s faithfulness and blessing of our service.

Josh Blackmer