Making A Difference: More Than A Cliché

Nine Things You Can Do Now

Make a difference. It's a phrase that gets thrown around constantly by advertisers, motivational speakers, athletes, movie stars, politicians, and pastors, to the point where it has become hollow – merely another cliché on our ever-growing list of American pop culture slogans, having lost its effect long ago. It is something that as women in the Church we are called to do, yet many of us are not always clear what it means or how to go about it. 

As women with Christ's love poured into our hearts, we all want to make a difference. But sometimes the desire to serve is so overwhelming that we don't know where to begin. We realize there are SO many possible opportunities for service and get frustrated because we're unclear about which direction to take.

Here are some practical tips gleaned from Scripture that will guide you towards your calling and area of service.

1) Ask God. First and foremost, ask, seek, knock, and the door will be opened to you. Ask God to show you where you are needed to further His kingdom. God is so excited that you have fallen in love with Him and want to spread His love, He isn't going to let you off the hook easily!

Jesus Christ: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8).

James: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).

2) Start with YOU. Remember Shakespeare's immortal words: "To thine own self be true." This is not a selfish place to begin when considering service opportunities – this is the healthiest and the best place to begin! Don't try to be somebody else, even though you may admire their stellar example of Christian service. Just be forewarned: their calling may or may not be your calling. If their ministry doesn't happen to be yours, you will feel like you're trying to force something that just isn't happening, and thus you will not experience the blessings of joy and peace for your efforts. Nor will those whom you are trying to serve be truly served if you're not being true to yourself. God has crafted you like nobody else, and planted some specific desires within you that may help lead you towards your area of service.

If we think that one avenue of ministry is more important than another, then we have failed to take to heart Paul's words on the body of Christ: "But God has combined the members of the body… so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other" (I Corinthians 12: 24-25). And "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body" (I Corinthians 12:12).

Follow that still, small voice, that inner passion. What is it that you would really love to go out and do? If today were your last day on earth, what would you like to say you did to make a difference? How did you use your awesome privilege to change the world?

3) Get creative / think outside the box. So many of us are caught in a rut – we think that serving can only be one of two things: teaching Sunday school to little kids or serving Campbell's soup to the homeless. Maybe visiting nursing homes will cross your mind. God must cringe when we think like this. "Hello, people! Isn't the world I created so much bigger than those two things?"

And how true it is! The world is a HUGE place, full of different kinds of people who like different kinds of things and who need different kinds of help. Not everybody can do the same job – we all have different gifts that are needed in different capacities.

A good place to start is to ask yourself these two questions and make a list of your responses: 1) What activity would I like to do as I serve? and 2) To what group am I drawn toward?

For the first question, be honest with yourself – maybe you hate sitting still and enjoy hands-on helping; maybe you're a great listener and great at showing mercy by being a friend; maybe you are vocal and active and can use your passion for justice to make positive changes; maybe you get excited by a truth you learn in Scripture and love communicating that to other people, etc. Is there some area that has been gently tugging on your heart – e.g. you feel burdened for single moms in your community, or you're upset and frustrated by the way worldly values are polluting the lives of youth? Listen and ask God in prayer. Listen for that still small voice. Pay attention to that which gets you fired up in a way nothing else can.

For the second question regarding groups, that could be shut-ins, the sick, the elderly, children, struggling teens, addicts, single moms, the rich, the poor, the homeless, immigrants, etc. Anyone and everyone struggles and needs help. Maybe there's an elderly lady in your neighborhood with lots of pets who can't run around after them like she used to – if you can't get enough of kitties and puppies, help her out. If you have a passion for helping others learn English while learning about other people's cultures, volunteer with a literacy program. The possibilities are virtually endless. Let yourself run wild with ideas.

4) Be open to new experiences. Allow yourself to honestly encounter new service opportunities. Embrace new ideas and suggestions. Let down your guard and prejudices with regard to people groups and areas of ministry where you may have a biased perspective. Maybe you're being called to visit shut-ins in a nursing home – and nursing homes have always made you feel uneasy. Maybe you've been steeped in a wholesome, moral environment since childhood, and you sense you are being sent to minister to gamblers or prostitutes. You wonder how on earth you will be able to relate to these people? (Maybe you're being called to free a nation from bondage and you are "slow of speech" – will the real Moses please stand up?). Do you refuse to go, and live just like before, or do you gulp, take courage from God, and take a chance and act on faith in God's promises? What if you meet and develop a friendship with an older lady who is amazing and can give you exactly the advice you need in your life right now?

You have no idea what unimaginable, lavish riches await you, what gems you'll discover, or how God will use you as a conduit for His amazing grace, if you are open to His calling. Refresh your memory by studying some of the great heroes of the faith (see Hebrews 11) or by picking up a biography of Martin Luther, David Livingston, Amy Carmichael, George Mueller, or any other modern-day saint.

5) Let God and others into your area of deepest pain. Sometimes the places where God works most powerfully and others are healed most effectively are through our areas of pain, brokenness, weakness, and embarrassment. He has a funny way of doing that! The Bible is chock-full of examples of this kind. We may not necessarily find ourselves ministering in an area we would call one of our strengths. It may be our place of greatest weakness, one where we KNOW there are obviously more well-qualified candidates for the position than us. There again, God looks not for credentials, qualifying experience, or even spiritual gifts, but a willing heart. He faithfully equips us where we are lacking. Doesn't that blow your mind?

Think back to when someone else ministered to you, and when that encounter profoundly changed you. Chances are that that person was real to you and candidly exposed her heart, along with weaknesses and vulnerabilities. The world doesn't need another Christian who is glossy on the outside and miserable on the inside – the world needs people who aren't afraid to take risks, who are real and have come alive because they faced the reality of their brokenness, the saving news of God's grace, and the subsequent hope and confidence that results from faith in the Lord.  

6) Test your motives. From God's perspective, making a difference is NOT about adding a notch to your repertoire of good works – it is about your character and heart. With God, it's not about how impressive you can get your résumé to look – on the contrary, all our righteous deeds, done without love or apart from Christ, are as filthy rags to God. When will we get it that He's looking on the inside, not on the outside? And that it's about how we respond to God's love, not how we try to earn it. We can't.

It is only through Christ that we can accomplish ANYTHING good at all. The men and women who are successful in service, ministry, evangelism, etc., hold up because their sure foundation is in Christ, not in caffeine, charisma, or anything else. Those who rely on other things will eventually burn out or fail in some way. They may be successful for a while, but give it time – if anything is not done for Christ and through His power, it is doomed before it even starts.

Also important to remember: Even though we do receive tremendous blessings from God for service that is done from a right and pure heart, we do not engage in service because we're out to score some benefits – we are out to serve God and show His love to others, first and foremost. Don't act – say, go on that mission trip to Mexico – because you desire to be blessed through the experience, and you think it could benefit your spiritual walk with Christ. If you heart is right, it will, but keep asking God to search your heart and test your motives to make sure they are from above, not from below.

7) Educate yourself about what's out there. This goes hand-in-hand with thinking outside the box. Research opportunities through careful use of the Internet. Ask several mature Christians about their experiences discerning their calling of service - they may help illuminate your own search. Hit your friends up for some ideas (they often know us better than we know ourselves!), or consult spiritual leaders in your life. And keep your ears open for opportunities advertised on the radio, in the paper, or in overheard conversations. You may find something that just might click!

8) Take a spiritual gifts inventory. If you're really stuck, talk to one of your church leaders about taking a spiritual gifts inventory. These tests certainly don't have the final word on which direction you should take, but they can be excellent in pointing you in an initial direction. Maybe you took one a long time ago, but you feel you've changed as you've matured and gone through different life events. Positive Christian Woman recommends the following online spiritual gifts inventory, although it is certainly not the only one: http://www.mintools.com/spiritual-gifts-test.htm.

9) Start today! Don't just wait around, putting off little opportunities (which are in fact great opportunities) that are staring you in the face right now. Don't decide to quit serving altogether until the big revelation comes from God about where you're called to serve. James says that anyone who knows the good he should do and doesn't do it, sins (James 4:17). That's a pretty grave warning!

Making a difference begins in our daily life, in the life we're living RIGHT NOW! Our responsibility is to do well at the work we are called to, whatever that may be – being a mother, sister, daughter, lawyer, waitress, zoologist, artist, student, you name it! Are you doing your homework, washing your dishes, cleaning out your cat's litter box, or phoning your mother for the glory of God? God is concerned that we do ALL things for His glory.

In the meantime, trust that God will open a door for you at just the right moment. Until then, honor God by doing well where you are right now, and be flexible – jump in and help out! Pass a smile along to a stranger on the street, give a word of encouragement, serve those you live with. Our small, unexpected gestures of kindness and love are faint but resounding echoes of God's outrageous gesture of love through Christ. Such small things bless others in oddly tremendous ways, and in turn we ourselves are rewarded and blessed. And that is only the beginning of the Kingdom's richness!

Now that you've taken these suggestions to mind AND heart, go out there and serve, girl!

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