Matthew 1:35, New Living Translation-

“Before daybreak, the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”

We need time alone to seek God. We need time alone with God to be refreshed in our inner spirit man/woman. Even Jesus realized the importance of getting alone with our Father. “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” (Mark 1:35, NLT)

I wonder if there are times we get in over our heads. We are to do good works that glorify God, but has God called us to do all these things or did we say yes without seeking what He wants for us? In the following verses of Mark 1 it says, “Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ But Jesus replied, ‘We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.’ So, he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.” (V.36-39, NLT)

It was in Jesus’ time along with our Father that He sought the will of God, and He knew what the next steps were. If He hadn’t sought the will of God, He could have ended up staying in the same place, doing work that glorifies God, but not completing everything our Father had for Him to do.

I think it’s important to take these things into consideration to pray for them. If we volunteer to do every little thing, it can steal the joy of serving the Lord, if He has not called us to do these things. We have specific gifting that the Lord has given each of us to help make up the body of Christ and to function as the body of Christ. 

Here is an excerpt from 1 Corinthians 12 that Paul shares about the body.

“Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, ‘I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,’ that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, ‘I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,’ would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So, we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So, God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (V. 14-27, NLT)Every part of the body is necessary for the body to function. Where has God gifted you? Is there something the Lord wants you to do that? You haven’t stepped in yet? Is there something you have stepped into that the Lord hasn’t called you too? When the body functions there is harmony. When we come together with our gifting to function as the body, there is harmony. 

I have been told there is an 80/20 rule; 20 percent of the congregation does 80 percent of the work. To me, this is an indication that shows volunteers facing burnout and losing their joy and serving. Together, let’s seek the Lord to fill the places He wants us to and let go of the things He hasn’t called us to so that we may each fulfill what God has called us to. Let us come together as the body of Christ, fully functional in united in Jesus’ name.