Are You Serving With Joy and Gladness?

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Are we serving with joy and gladness in our homes? As in, are we glad to be at home serving our family with joy and gladness? Or do we wish we were back in the workforce?

[*This post was written in 2007 when I was heavily (and grumpily) pregnant with our 6th blessing.
The details are different but the message from the Lord remains the same.]

Well, today, I was reminded that I was not serving with joy and gladness when my oldest son proclaimed loudly that it was the first time he has seen me smile for a long time.

Attitude Adjustment Ahead

Ah! You know how when you have children, very little escapes them? Today was that kind of day when the Lord uses my child to tell me that I need an attitude adjustment.

His comment got me thinking, “Hmmm…have I been so stressed lately that I have not smiled at them? At him?”

Excuses Galore

Unfortunately, he was right. Oh, I have plenty of excuses reasons going for me. Let me see:

» I am 36 weeks pregnant with blessing #6 (at the point of writing)
» The weather has been very hot & humid making me feel extra hot, big and clumsy.
» I have to teach and train 5 children despite being heavily pregnant.
» I am dealing with a very trying almost 9-year-old.
» The weather has been extremely hot and humid.
» The man is involved in a flurry of ministry commitments which always means I have to shoulder a greater load at home. To make matters worse, most of his commitments are at night when my energy and patience have worn out.
» I am pregnant.
» I haven’t been sleeping well – all those toilet visits in the middle of the night.
» I am pregnant.
» And did I mention that the weather is hot and humid?
» I am dealing and training a very demanding 2-year-old.
» I am pregnant, and on and on.

I am sure you get the picture.

But all these are not good enough reasons to be not smiling at the children, and having a bad attitude, I am afraid. As the grown-up, I should be able to control my emotions better than a child. What more if I call myself a spirit-filled believer?

Serving with Joy and Gladness

Then the Lord brought to mind these verses:

“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord shall send against you…”

Deuteronomy 28:47-48

God told the Israelites that if they did not serve the Lord who brought them out of Egypt with JOY and GLADNESS, they will have to serve their enemies “whom the Lord shall send against (them)”!

Yikes! Ok, I know we are now no longer under the Law but the principle of the matter remains the same – there are consequences (negative ones!) of not serving with Joy and Gladness? How we serve our family is how we serve the Lord.

Do I Mean What I Say?

So, if I go around saying that children are a blessing and that staying home and raising the children is a noble calling that God has called me to do, and yet I do it with a sour face and a grumpy heart, I have not served the Lord with joy and gladness. I am doing it very grudgingly.

Consequences of Not Serving with Joy and Gladness

What is/are the consequence/s of not serving with joy and gladness?

a) Called Out as a hypocrite

For starters, the children see through it all. They will see that I am a hypocrite – mouthing one thing but doing another.

Oh, I can fool everyone and even myself but the children see through it all. They will sense any resentment I feel and definitely the lack of joy in my heart.

b) Impact our Children’s Future Choices

To project further into the future, I may be making my sons think, “I’d better make sure my wife does not stay home if we are having any children.” And my daughters to think, “I’d rather not get married and have children and definitely not stay home. Look at mom! She’s soooo miserable!”

c) Poor Testimony for the Lord

Then there is the consequence of being a bad testimony for the Lord. People around me hear me talk about trusting God and walking in faith but all they see is how miserable I look and how I lack joy in my demeanour. Why should they believe what God has to say about children being a blessing? Why would anyone want to follow our Lord when they see how UNjoyful I am?

What’s the Solution?

So what is one to do? Put on a front? Stop disciplining the children? Fake it till I make it?

Not at all.

a) Fix our Eyes on Jesus

Yes, you have heard me say this a million times but it is true. And we all need to be reminded over and over: fix our eyes on Jesus and learn to rest in Him. Chill. Then roll with the punches.

If I am stressed, it shows me one thing – I am not trusting in God! Remember, he says that his yoke is easy and his burden light. (Matthew 11:29).

b) Abide in Him

Whenever I start feeling stretched and stressed, I know I am working from my own strength. And that is foolishness! Unless I tap into His power to do what He has called me to do, I will fail.

What did Jesus say?

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Matthew 15:5 (emphasis mine).

Simple Yet Not Easy

It sounds so simple, right? But I will confess that it isn’t easy at all. And so, we need to be reminded over and over.

Stop. Fix our eyes on Jesus, Repent for not serving with joy and gladness. Re-focus and abide in Him. He will provide the wisdom and strength to do what He has called us to do. Stop being stubborn and insisting on doing it on our own strength.

Then Joy and Gladness will return. Simple yet not easy, I know. But it is the only way. Try it!

May this help you to serve with Joy and Gladness in your home as we serve the Lord.

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