Intentional Acts of Kindness

What abilities do you have that God can use? The abilities that God uses are not always the ones we think He can use. Yes, we’ve all been blessed with gifts and talents. I can do just about anything when it comes to fixing and writing software on a computer. But ask me to fix an engine of a car…

fuhgetaboutit!

This weekend, I watched men and women of God, step outside their abilities to help a brother in Christ. I saw Christians from all walks of life; some Administrators; some ministers; some musicians and some small business owners reach out and grab a paint brush, a broom and a paint sprayer. I saw these same people reach out and strive to clean out the physical barriers of one person’s life.  I saw Christ in them!!!

I can sit here and write how thankful I am for what they did. Which I am! But God empowered them; God energized them; and God was there all day long! They made the decision to act as ambassadors for God and God gave them the ability to love and bless. They stepped outside their abilities to help someone in need.

I believe God is looking for this in our lives. Not the things we are already proficient at but the things that make us step out of our comfort zones in his name. This is where God really can work in us, outside our normal abilities. I believe that God is mainly looking for three abilities in each of us. These are:

1.       Dependability - Can God count on each of us to be faithful in our desire to serve? If we are dependable, we can be used by God at any given moment, in any place, at any time, according to His purpose. A Pastor from my church once told me, “Be so dependable that if you say you will be somewhere and don’t show up, they’ll send flowers.”

2.       Reliability - Are we reliable in our service? When you think of one who is reliable, you have complete confidence that that person can be trusted to do exactly what has been asked of them, every time. Can God trust you to do what is exactly asked of you?

3.       Availability - Are we available? Being available is to be present and ready for immediate use. When God asks for you to be available he means: Not gifted. Not extraordinary. Just faithful and available.

Throughout both the Old and New Testament, we find accounts of men and women who were used by God for His purpose in His kingdom. We read how God used these people and worked in their lives, and generally we do not read about great skill, intellect or physical attributes.

During the Apollo missions to the moon, the spaceships were off course most of the time. Yet through constant and continual communication with Mission Control, they were always able to make the necessary corrections.

Applying this principle to our lives, we too are off course most of the time. But through prayer, by staying in constant contact with God, He can make the corrections and point us in the direction He wants in our daily lives.

1 Peter 4: 8-11

“And have a fervent love for one another. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each person has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.”

Stepping outside your abilities to help others is not a “Random Act of Kindness”, it’s a “Intentional Act of Kindness!”