What Can I Do for You Today,
Lord? / What Can I Do for You Today, Brother?
Kevin Guigou / November-December 2008 CFFM Newsletter
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gentle
song that I have enjoyed for years is one by Lee Russell
that repeats the words, “Good morning, Lord. What
can I do for you, today?” I’ve often thought of |
the simplicity and life-focusing
nature of that question. It’s a tender reflection of the
relationship between children of God and our loving Father.
Every new day of our lives, when
our eyes open out of sleep, we once again are graced with
the sacred opportunity to direct our very first thoughts
toward our God. This is the first daily chance we have to
offer prayer and praise to Him saying, “Good morning, Lord;
what can I do for you today?” Is there any better foundation
upon which to construct each day’s adventure? It’s not a
trite statement or religious formula, but an attitude that
we can cultivate. We are professing to God that our day’s
focus will be on Him, rather than on fulfilling our own
good pleasure. Seeking His guidance instead of personal
gratification ultimately brings us the greatest pleasure
anyway!
In a sense, we’re praying, “God, as I rise up this day,
and as you unfold your direction for me, thank you for your
energy being activated in my life, so that I both desire
and do what gives you pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do
of his good pleasure.
As Christians, we made Jesus our lord at some time in our
past. Each morning we can reaffirm the present tense reality
of his lordship by actively turning our hearts to seek God’s
will for the day ahead. What’s His mission for me today?
Are there specific people or situations that He needs me
to pray for to begin the day ahead? As I wake up, are there
verses in the Scriptures that the Father wants to bring
to my attention to prepare me to take on the challenges
of my waking hours? Is the adversary up to something that
God wants to bring to my attention so that I will not be
caught off guard as the day unfolds? Do I have any “leftovers”
from yesterday that I still need to cast onto His shoulders?
Certain hours of the day are no more or less “sacred” than
any other, but we will walk in more of God’s blessings if
we begin and end those days honoring Him. We can wake up
recognizing His love, and close the day thankful for His
faithfulness.
Psalm 92:1-2 (NIV)
It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name,
O Most High, 2 to proclaim your love in the morning and
your faithfulness at night,
Isaiah 26:9
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with
my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy
judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world
will learn righteousness.
In Psalm 5, David wrote about the direction of his mind
in the morning hours.
Psalm 5:1-3 (NIV)
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. 2 Listen
to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning
I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
The first phrases of these verses contain three repeated
requests for God’s attention to his need as David pleads,
“Give ear… consider… Listen...” The repetition of these
three words reflects the grammatical figure of speech,
synonymia. According to E. W. Bullinger, such
a figure is “the repetition of words similar in sense,
but different in sound and origin.” It emphasizes his
great desire for God to hear what he has to say.
David also invokes the benefits of several aspects of
God’s character by referring to Him as Jehovah, as his
King and as Elohim. The Psalmist also offers up his “words…
sighing… cry for help… pray[er]… voice... [and] requests.”
He was pouring out his feelings from the depth of his
soul, holding nothing back. He unashamedly laid out his
requests before God and then waited with great expectation
for the results of his petitions. What a great example
of how to start our own days: lay out
our requests and live out our
day in expectation of God’s blessings!
The word, “lay” in the NIV of this verse (“direct” in
KJV) meant “to set in order or to lay out in array.” It
is used in Exodus 40 referring to the setting in order
of the table setting details for the Passover. David laid
out and set in order the specific needs and petitions
of his heart in the morning.
The phrase, “wait in expectation” in the NIV, is a Hebrew
word that refers to looking out for something. A form
of the word is also used in Ezekiel 33 for the word, “watchman.”
The watchman was the man on the tower, responsible to
look out across the landscape for anything coming toward
the city. When we’ve laid out our requests to God, we
look out across our lives with expectation for the blessings
to come our way.
When life gets tough, sometimes sleep itself can be uniquely
refreshing. Then the dawn of a new day has the potential
of “rebooting our hard-drive.” In that refreshing newness,
we should recognize that God’s compassions are new every
morning.
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
As the sun can be trusted to perpetually rise each morning,
so also is the greatness of God’s faithfulness to us.
Even in his sinless life, Jesus Christ also needed to
seek out God’s direction and guidance as he began his
days.
Mark 1:35
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day,
he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there
prayed.
I would think that if anybody could “sleep in” and still
coast through a successful day, it would be the Lord Jesus.
Even he needed to faithfully maintain his prayerful interaction
with his God and Father. Throughout his life on earth,
he had to be clear as to God’s purposes for him to fulfill.
In John 17, we see the longing of Jesus to do what God
wanted him to do. The motto of his whole life seemed to
be, “Father, what can I do for you today?”
John 17:4 (NIV)
I [Jesus] have brought you [God] glory on earth by completing
the work you gave me to do.
John 4:34 (NIV)
"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will
of him who sent me and to finish his work.
Luke 22:42
… Father… not my will, but thine, be done.
I see our relationship with God and our desire to help
people as a “cycle of service.” One builds the other.
As we feel commissioned by God, then we go out and serve
people; as we serve people, then we begin to better understand
the nature of the life-mission that God has sent us on.
Our realization of our unique giftings begins to unfold
amidst efforts of service.
As we have an attitude toward God of “What can I do for
you today?” then we are fully equipped to turn to those
around us and ask the same basic question, “What can I
do for you [my fellow-man] today?” If we’ll begin
our day with a mind-set of serving God, then we’ll live
out our day prepared to serve those who cross our path.
Vertically, we are sons of God
as legal heirs of His kingdom. Horizontally,
we are servants of God who carry
out His will, helping those around us.
In Mark chapter 10, Jesus again told his disciples, in
some amount of detail, how he was to suffer and to give
up his life (vss. 32-34). In the verses immediately following,
he had a discussion with two of his apostles, James and
John, in which he asked them (verse 36), "What
do you want me to do for you?" He was
showing his interest in their lives, while also giving
them the opportunity to clearly state their specific desire
and its relationship to Jesus. Their request was so human.
They each wanted to sit adjacent to him in his future
glorification.
In verse 40, Jesus’ response is that the selection of
who will sit by him, “… is not mine to give.” This should
remind us that even though we ask people “What can I do
for you,” it may not be available for us to grant their
request. As we first know what God wants from us, then
we can know more clearly the extent and limits of what
we can do for those around us.
Just a few verses later in the same chapter, as Jesus
and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, a blind beggar,
Bartimaeus, called out for help. Even though Jesus could
surely tell that the man was blind, he still asked the
question,
Mark 10:51 (NIV)
"What do you want me to do for you?"
Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want
to see."
On the surface the question of Jesus seemed unnecessary,
but in asking it, he both announced his willingness to
heal, while also requiring that the man in need profess
and proclaim the clarity of his believing prayer. Bartimaeus
established his desire by his words, “I want to see.”
His declared expectation released the power of God and
brought his desired result.
Mark 10:52 (NIV)
"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed
you." Immediately he received his sight and followed
Jesus along the road.
By asking, “What can I do for you?” in both the vertical
and the horizontal, Jesus developed a lifestyle in which
he 1) knew what God wanted him to do; 2) knew what he
and God could do for those around him who believed.
At times, when dealing with a difficult situation, I find
myself talking circles around the real issues. At those
times, I need to simply stop and establish 1) what does
God want in this situation? And 2) what do I want to see
happen? We need to determine God’s will and decide what
we’re believing for. This is also certainly true in ministering
and counseling situations.
This overall attitude and perspective has lead to a motto
around the Christian Family Fellowship Ministry of “What
can we do for you?” As a ministry family, we simply want
to do all that we can to help remove obstacles and fears
of any kind that might block believers from fully realizing
and manifesting all that God has called them to be and
to do. We desire to cultivate forums in which believers
can speak for God. We want to help to build God’s Word
and the power of His spirit in children, youth and adults.
We want to help build strong, godly families. We want
to feed the hungry. We want to “teach what we know ‘til
we hear the trumpet.”
As individuals and as a ministry, let’s ask God, “What
can we do for you today?” Then as that guidance unfolds,
we can ask those who come across our paths, “What can
we (God and I) do for you today?” Every day, our relationship
with God fully equips us to serve those around us; and,
in return, our service to others cultivates our relationship
with God! |
