Why do I feel so insignificant?

Folks this is a bible study that you can do as a family or single or in a group

What's the big deal? He is, and you are!
Can you grasp that the God of the Universe made the heavens and the earth? (Psalm 146:6) It is good for us to have a healthy fear of Him, especially the "fear" to offend our Creator. (Proverbs 1) He gives us life and breath and our basic needs. (Acts 17:25, Matthew 6:25-34) The world is not a safe place. We, on the other hand, are focused on us. We are just individuals in this vast world looking for our place (isn't there a song about that?). We want to be somebody. (John 3:18-21) Our hoping for notice…from the world or our church community is a deep pursuit to fulfill. Does it fulfill? What does God want from us? (Exodus 28:1) Few ask that question. If they do ask, there is healing in the question. Strangely, the Lord asks us to decrease so He can increase. (John 3:30) Yep, that doesn't fit into how we grew up scrambling for significance. We see other people held up by the world and church as; "this person is successful because they are "doing" XYZ." Next comes the inference "that we need to emulate him, her or they." Adverts, books, and seminars are taught around the "success" of this or that person or system of thought. "You need to read "so and so" megachurch pastor's new book…". Why not just read the Bible to obey it?

Sometimes, after pursuing the right formulas in business, or church, we leave with still more ache and loneliness. We are told; "dive in and get connected." This is code for; volunteer. Or the oft used phrase that chills our bones; "you can do it." Or worse, "you lack faith." We sink lower because our; "pick me up by the bootstrap" strap broke long ago. Or worse, the nagging gut feeling; "maybe I just don't have what it takes." Why do I feel or think I am so insignificant? Didn't the Lord make me for His purposes? What am I missing? Focus. Yep, we said it. The right focus on the "Who"…not the "do." We think the "do" is a plan to keep us from the WHO. Grab the tree trunk of our identity and let's shake our perspective for all its worth and then get the Lord's mind on things. (Romans 12 whole chapter)

As we have stated in other podcasts, we are to find our place in the world by just being His servant and ministering to Him. Yep, not glamourous. Not supposed to be. Because our focus must be Him. What about you? Keep reading.

We see our conflict in Scripture. (Luke 10:38-42) Remember Mary and Martha? Martha invited Christ to her house. But it wasn't just Christ that came. While Scripture doesn't say if there was a group, we do know some crowds followed Him. Based on the text, Martha was preparing for many. She was a good host. She made people feel welcome. Martha wanted to meet their needs. Sound familiar? We can now go look in the mirror. Her focus? It was on the guests. But she notices her sister is not helping HER. Notice the "Who" is missing, and her attention is on "them." Side note: The "do" benefits us because people are pleased, and many will say "great job" and "thank you, Martha." As we write this commentary, we are very torn because we see ourselves in Martha. No. We ARE Martha. Serving is tiring! And Mary was not helping! This next segment in Scripture should cause us surprised pause. Martha demanded (commanded...oops a lousy attitude to take!) that Christ tell her sister Mary to help her! No was Christ's answer. The presence of the Lord brings life and conviction of sin. Instead of having Mary help Martha, He revealed to Martha her actual need. Mary was at His feet, which is symbolic of worship, and thus, Christ said she chose the better portion. "41 But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; (I am not your focus…people are) 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Notice the ONE thing. In this case, it was Mary's full attention on the Lord, proper worship at His feet, and the WORD's OF CHRIST. Mary fulfilled Exodus 28:1"Minister to Me." Our conclusion could be: Sitting at the Lord's feet and hearing His words IS more important than serving people? Perhaps that is something we can think about. First, we minister to the Lord BEFORE we minister to people. Or when the Lord is with us, people can serve themselves? As we write this blog, our hearts are burning with the knowledge that our call is to worship only Him. He helps us take care of the details. "Hey, Ric, my family can't feed itself." I understand, but please set your eyes on the ONE thing and He will help you.

Let's look at another chapter.
In the podcast, we also cover Deut. 28. This is the "blessings and curses" chapter. If YOU obey the word of God, you will be blessed. But read the whole chapter. Go read now then read further. Notice that if our focus is on the Lord and His Word, then He does all the work, including helping us in our daily lives which includes serving people, and He even helps us obey His laws! Adam was a gardner thus could not make a plant grow that he needed to eat. The Lord did that part. As we served in the first annual bible study conference, we felt as if the Lord was doing the work, and we were helping! In other words, Deut, 28! Our podcast shows that to serve the Lord, we focus on Him (worship) and His Word, and He will make us significant in HIS Household! And this life is short. Our eyes should be fixed on the Kingdom to come. We are vital to the Lord, and He loves each of us. He wants to be an active part of our lives. (Psalm 4) Join us for this fun look at our motives, and we try to answer the question in this podcast: What's the big deal? Answer: He is, and you are.