I heard a story once of a man who would travel to towns where a well-known evangelist of the time was scheduled to have a series of meetings.

It was said that this man would cover his own expenses for days on end just to pray in his hotel room, morning and evening for the will of the Lord to be done in that town. When the evangelist arrived, the man moved on to the next town.

It wasn’t important to him that people knew his name or even why he came. What mattered most was that he fulfilled what the Lord had given him to do.

This morning, I just had a conversation with one of my “extroverted” children. He isn’t bashful and loves to be in the center of the action. And at times, his desire to be the front guy takes precedence over just taking out the trash. But taking out the trash and picking up the random pieces of paper on the way to the dumpster qualifies us for greater tasks ahead.

That doesn’t mean that if God calls upon us to pick up trash for Him the rest of our days that we are lesser than the dignitaries who travel after us on clean streets.

On the contrary, it means we know how to be willing and obedient to the leading of the Master. In my estimation, maturity is reached when His kingdom coming and His will being done means more to us than fame, fortune or even a great name.

May the Lord help us rejoice in our lot, our spots of service, whether bottom or top in the eyes of the world. May our gaze rest on what He sees and not on our own need for value and validation.

And at the end of the day, may we hear His voice alone say, “You done good, my child, you done real good. Well done!”

 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan where John was baptizing. John 1:24-28

 Biblical Meditation: 1 Timothy 6:6 [And it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain.