Loving Others Part 2; Seeking Good vs. Seeking God

1 Cor. 1:⁴ I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. ⁵ Through him, God has enriched your church in every way... ⁷ Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ…⁹ God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthew 6: ³² … your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Good deeds are absolutely good, no doubt about it…and much needed in this world. Here’s how it might go: You have a friend who is sick, so you decide to take them a meal. You don’t really know what they need, you’re guessing, couldn’t hurt, might help, right? You take it by their home, give them your best wishes, and drive away. You feel good that you showed kindness to another human. They are happy someone thought about them. That is a beautiful thing.

My recent experience is what it can look like when we’re seeking God first, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit: We are in the car, on a road trip home from a wedding. A family member who knows that I and my Christian friends are prayer warriors, shoots me a note to lift up another family member (we’ll call her “J”), who is suffering. Also, can we give her scriptures that can encourage them and remind them of God’s presence and His goodness? I quickly text my friends and tell them the needs. Shortly, scriptures are rolling in, and I pass them on.  

The family member responds by opening up more about how hard the situation is, how physically and emotionally taxing on several people. As I am talking to the Lord about it all, I say I want to help; what can I do? I am prompted to make a trip to see some of my extended family. Then I think about the long drive and my own limitations…but the burden to go, weighs heavier. I know this is happening, and that God will work it out. Our caravan stops for a break, and I tell my friend (one of the friends I’ve been texting for scriptures) that I have decided to do this. She immediately says, “If you need me to come with you and help drive or just give support, I have time this week.” Well, God handled that one quickly. 

Later, I again reached out to a small portion of my Christian community, with an idea. I say friends, I know this is short notice, but if anyone wants to send food or a note of encouragement, I’ll come by your houses to pick them up and take them to J. Just let me know if you have something. No pressure. I expect maybe a couple of food items and a few cards, but I don’t really know. I hear back from one of my friends that although she won’t be able to add much food-wise, she would love to go to everyone’s houses and pick up their contributions, and bring them to me. She says, “this is what I can do,” and honestly it is a huge help. Two other friends let me know that they are out of town, but they will be participating in prayer. I don’t hear from anyone else. I think, maybe God doesn’t want me to take food, He just wants me to be there for her. The day before we are to leave town, my friend drives to several houses and brings to me, a huge cooler full of food, 2 brown grocery bags-full, cards and gifts, from 8 people. Another friend comes by on her own to bring her contribution. Everyone did what they could, and the Lord produced an abundance. 

The two things impressed on my heart as I spent quiet time preparing, were 1) J didn’t feel seen, really understood, or heard. Though she’s surrounded, somehow she feels alone. The void might be a spiritual one. She needs to know that God sees her and hears her, and 2) There will be other opportunities for activities, but she must be the priority. Even in her illness, she continues to serve others. She needs to receive a blessing, and she needs to be prayed over in person. She needs to be placed first. I don’t pretend to know these things on my own. I truly believe the Spirit was at work so that her deep needs could be met.  

Our travel was slowed considerably by outside forces, but we did not lose heart. We knew that we were about to see God at work. We arrived at the time we’d planned to have dinner with other family, but we postponed that because of our first priority. We visited with J for 2 hours, prayed with her, unloaded the bounty of food and gifts – it was overwhelming for her.  Like, who does this? I said I don’t know how much community you have (she interjected, “none”), but we’re bringing our community to you. God knew your needs, and he worked through us to supply them. He doesn’t love in small morsels…He loves BIG. This is how much he loves you. 

Our dinner was moved to 8:00, but it was still wonderful. The following morning we overslept, but we still met for “breakfast” at 11:30…I thought there would be 5 of us, but there were several more family members who came out. What a fun surprise! I was blessed in so many ways and I have to believe, because we made God’s priority our priority, He went overboard with the blessings. 

Any good deed is great. I encourage that. The difference between random good deeds and my experience could be seen as seeking good vs. seeking God. If you seek out good deeds, you can always find good deeds in which to participate. The world is full of them. But when you seek God first, He will show you the good deeds he has planned for you, custom-made for your gifts and abilities. When you work in tandem with His will, your eyes are opened to how much more you have to offer when He is involved. Once you’ve experienced that, you will always want to partner with Him in serving others, because… 

• God gives us a heart for others. 
• God invites us to come to Him in faith, and ask for His help.
• God impresses scripture on our hearts, to use and to share in times where we or others need them.
• God places on our hearts, ways to show His love and care for others. He allows us to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
• He calms every fear, and He gives us everything we need to carry out his will.
• He has placed us in community, and He gives each one different gifts. We are most effective for Him, when we work in community.
• If we will only show up, He will show us and others, His abundant love.
• When we follow His lead, our burden is light, expressing our faith strengthens our faith, and the blessing is extravagant.

Luke 6: ³⁸ Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”