Is serving God (with your time and/or money) something you do only when it’s convenient, or are you willing to trump other priorities?

We carve out time for work, sporting events & pedicures, but how often do we make time to serve God by helping out in volunteer ministries?

Our culture seems to promote life in the fast lane: do more; buy more! What if we focused on slowing down & giving stuff away, instead?

I want to share a story of sacrifice with you – not because I’m “holier than thou,” but quite the contrary – simply because I’m an ordinary person with nothing really spectacular to claim to my name, so if I can do it, then so can you. The story begins back in the mid-1990s, when I felt like God was calling me into the mission field. The details of that adventure are another story for another day, but the part I wanted to share with you today has to do with raising support. When you go into full-time ministry, you often don’t accept a salaried position like you do in the regular world. A lot of times, you have to raise money to support yourself.

That’s the type of position I was going into, and quite frankly, I didn’t have enough money pouring in to help. I was short on my fundraising goal and needed to sell the one thing that I was reluctant to let go of: my ’88 T-Bird.

My Thunderbird was beautifully sleek … and fast. It was black with gray interior, 5-speed turbo-charged (manual, of course – why drive a sports car with automatic transmission?), moon roof and contoured bucket seats. It wasn’t new and shiny off the showroom floor, but it was my dream car. If I ever succumb to the midlife crisis that I keep threatening to indulge in once the kids leave the house, I’m going to buy another T-Bird. That’s how much I loved that car.

Nevertheless, I sold it to reach my support goal.

Although I was sad to get rid of my T-Bird, I remembered reading about the early church in Acts, especially the latter part of Ch. 2, which talks about the disciples selling their belongings for the good of the cause. I knew in my heart that it was what I needed to do, but that didn’t make it easy. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that what God calls us to do usually isn’t easy. If it was, then perhaps we wouldn’t feel the need to rely on him.

It might not be full-time mission work that God has put on your heart today, but I reckon there is an inkling of something that he is trying to talk to you about, if you’ll slow down long enough to listen. It may not involve something as drastic as selling your car, but following God’s call will likely include sacrifice, of some sort. It might not even be financial, but it could be time or other resources at your disposal. What are you willing to give back to him, out of all the countless things that he has blessed you with?

Ask God to give you his eyes to recognize when someone needs a vote of confidence. Be that voice of encouragement for them today.

If you’re like me, then you probably think too much about your shortcomings. How can God use those apparent weaknesses to his glory?

Think back to a time when you made it through an adverse situation unscathed. Did you credit your own devices or humbly thank God?

Sometimes God calls us to step beyond our comfort zone: to do more, give more, or become more than we thought possible. Will you?

At your final curtain call, what do you want people to say about how you lived your life?

Preparing for a performance requires a sacrifice of time, effort and resources. Are you willing to sacrifice those things for God’s calling?