Eager

Exodus 35:29 says:

"So the people of Israel every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the Lord had given them through Moses brought their gifts and gave them freely to the Lord."

     That word eager is what really really got me this morning. This is the same group of people who just built a golden calf. The same ones who complained, panicked, and forgot everything God had done. And yet here they are, eager.

     That encourages me more than anything.

Because it tells me you can mess up and still come back eager to build something right. God tells Moses to take an offering for the Tabernacle , the place where His presence would dwell and instead of dragging their feet, the people were eager. They weren't forced. They weren't manipulated. They weren't told, You better. Scripture says they were eager to help in the work the Lord had given them.

    And it wasn't just money. It was gifts. Skills. Talents. Time. Some brought gold. Some brought fabric. Some knew how to sew.

Some knew how to build. Some had leadership wisdom. They didn't all bring the same thing but they all brought something.

    And this morning it hit me...God didn't ask them for what they didn’t have. He asked for what He had already put in them. Sometimes we think serving God means we have to become someone else We think we need to be more polished, more qualified, more spiritual. But Exodus 35 shows us that building what God asks for begins with what's already in your hands.

    And our posture matters. You can serve and still be irritated. Come on...You know you've been there. You can volunteer and still be resentful. You can show up and still complain the whole way there...Right...

    But eager...That's different.

Eager is joy.

Eager is gratitude.

Eager is "God, you want me involved in this..Wow"

     That kind of heart builds differently. If I'm completely honest, I have to check myself sometimes. Am I eager, Or am I just doing what infeelmlike I have to. Am I excited to use what God has given me or am I just maintaining something.

     Because when you're eager, it doesn't feel like an obligation. It's a privilege. The Tabernacle wasn't built by one person. It wasn't Moses doing everything. It was men and women who were eager to help in the work the Lord had given them.

    That phrase is important too "The work the Lord had given them." It wasn't random and it wasn't self appointed. It was assigned. And I think about our lives right now. The places we serve, the people we influence, the gifts we carry, the ministries we're part of. The families we're building the classrooms we're in, the jobs we are blessed with, the churches we attend.

    Are we eager for the work He's given us?

Because eagerness changes the atmosphere. It protects your heart from burnout. It keeps you from comparing. It reminds you that you get to build something holy with what God had already placed inside you.

     Don't lose your eagerness.

Not after mistakes. Not after correction. Not after disappointment. You can build wrong one season and build right the next.

Just be eager.

Bring what you have.

Give it freely.

And watch what God builds with it!

Love Pastor Mandy 

Ark of Hope Ministry 

Daily Reading Exodus 35