Being Poised in "Your Right Space" to Serve God
It's important to be poised in "your right space” at all times, especially in your relationship with God and how you serve him.
What exactly does it mean for you to be poised in your "right space?"
Each of us has a time and place in life. Time advances and the place in which you and I are changes. But we are also in a spiritual "space" with God. It's as if there is a beam of light extending down from almighty God that encompasses us every second of our life.
The word “poised” can mean two things.
First, you are poised when there is a certain calm about you, a certain equilibrium. You are not allowing the ups and downs of life control you. You seem to be comfortable with where you are. For example, "She seems so poised despite having to make a presentation in a few minutes."
Second, being poised can also mean you are ready to act. You are alert waiting for the right opportunity to spring into action. You are open to whatever you need to do. For example, "She is poised to make the presentation when called upon."
In either case, there is a shift in your mindset when you are poised. Instead of being emotionally and intellectually blown in the winds of your life, you're in your "right place." Instead of being distracted by inconsequential whims and activities, you are ready to perform your very best.
We need to be poised in our "right space" spiritually to be ready to answer the call or change direction as the Holy Spirit leads you, sometimes even into uncharted, uncomfortable waters, as we serve our Lord, to be sent
Listen to the Prophet Isaiah
“Woe to me!" I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the lord almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:5-8)
No matter who we are. No matter what we’ve done in the past, no matter how we’ve strayed off the path, no matter how much we’ve ignored, misplaced, or buried our talents and abilities, we need to be poised, ready to realize the possibilities God has in store for us as one of his children, one of his servants.
You, me, all of us, are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). That’s life after the Fall. But as one of God’s beloved, each of has a future paved with possibilities, graciously covered with things we can do to serve God and others, things even greater than we’ve already done.
As Oscar Wilde wrote in his play, a woman of no importance, "The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."
You may be walking in your God-given life purpose, doing certain things, even serving God, but he may want you to stay on your purpose path while changing directions.
Think of it this way. God wants you to travel in a certain direction, using a certain set of skills, abilities, and gifts, but the Spirit, while keeping you heading on the same overall direction, tells you a better, more productive way to proceed.
In God's Words
So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— (Deuteronomy 11:13)
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. (John 12:26)
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. (Philippians 3:13)
In the Words of Others
"Though I am always in a haste, I am never in a hurry, because I never undertake more work than I can go through with perfect calmness of spirit." John Wesley
"Faith and works are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God obeys God. He that is without faith is without works; and he that is without works is without faith." Charles Spurgeon
"We have become so engrossed in the work of the Lord that we have forgotten the Lord of the work." A.W. Tozer
In Your Words
Describe what being in your "right space" with God means to you. If you are not there, what do you have to do to get there?
Has the Holy Spirit directed you to change direction in your life, so you would be more in align with your God-given purpose? If yes, describe the circumstances and the conclusion.
Meditate in the Isaiah 6:5-8. Have you ever felt like Isaiah as described in the passage? Have you ever felt like you were being called to serve God in some way despite your unworthiness?
