***Note: Can I just brag for a bit? I am very proud of my brother Josh. He is a leader and role model, he loves learning, and has a compassionate heart. I won’t tell you all the stories of how we fought as kids, and how he knew EXACTLY how to push his big sister’s buttons. 🙂 I also love that you can hear him on the radio during Husker sporting events, and know the broadcast is happening because he is manning the board. How cool is that? I’m so thankful to have Josh bringing you a guest post today.
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By Josh Hilkemann
Hello all of Sarah’s readers!
While I am not unaccustomed to blog-writing, I can say this is the first time I have been a guest contributor to someone else’s blog… so it is indeed an honor!
When thinking of what to write about over the last week or so, I kind of had an idea of what I was going to share. Then, as is often the case when I’ve been mulling over a certain subject in my mind, I happened to hear a sermon about that exact subject. It always amazes me when this happens – whether it’s seeing a passage of scripture, or hearing a message on the radio, or even a certain song – I know that God is trying to teach me something when it comes at me in multiple directions.
It’s funny that this is going to be shared on my sister’s blog, because what I’ve been thinking about involves my siblings. Over the last year and a half or so, I’ve had a lot of emotions concerning the fact that my oldest sister would be going to/is on the mission field in a foreign country. These emotions were further stirred when I found out that my other older sister (Beth) would be following the same path soon. The mixture of emotions is hard to describe: sadness that they’re leaving, joy and pride that they’re going where God wants them to be.
But it’s also raised a lot of questions in my mind. Am I where God wants me to be? Is having a “secular job” what I’m supposed to be doing right now? Growing up I’ve always been told that you don’t have to be in ministry or be on the mission field to be a missionary. (And that we’re all called to be missionaries – “Go therefore…” in Matthew 28 etc.) But at the same time I have felt slight nudges that some day it might be time for me to be in one of those areas. I have to admit: it’s difficult trusting that you are listening to God’s call on your own life when every single one of your siblings is either in a foreign country on the mission field or has been there in the past…
With all of that said, here’s what I have been learning and soaking in the last couple of weeks.
First and foremost, everything we’re doing should be for God. Colossians 3:23 says: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Whether you are a missionary, have a “normal” 9-5 job, are a stay at home Mom, are retired or are a student, you don’t have any excuses – everything you do should be done with a heart that wants to please God. Along with that, we need to have an attitude of humility in our work – that’s something that I’ve always struggled with, and that’s why one of my favorite passages of scripture is Philippians 2:3-5. We should have an attitude of serving and not being served.
One of the biggest things that I took out of the sermon I heard recently was the fact that we need to be encouraged in whatever our work is, because there is Grace and Providence in our work. God has put us where we’re at for a reason, and he can use us wherever we’re at.
If we continue to grow in our relationship with Him, His direction on our lives will be that much clearer.
A Heart Like His 