Welcome guest-poster Ashley Moss to the blog today! You may remember Ashley as one of our first regular writers for She’s Intentional. She’s also actively involved in MOPS and other ministries at her church while being a boy-mom of three! Enjoy this inspiring devotional, and please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
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I remember going to the library in elementary school and pulling out book after book, trying to decide which one was coming home with me for the week. As an avid reader, this decision was always extremely hard, and many books had to come off of the shelf for me to decide.
But our library had a basket of wooden rulers that we had to use as placeholders when we looked at books. I would simply slide the ruler in the place of the book so when I decided that the book wasn’t a good fit for me, I could easily put the book back in its correct place.
That ruler served no other purpose in the library except to hold a book’s place. It was simply a placeholder. It would never amount to anything else except to wait for a book to get put back in its place, and then the stick was returned to the basket until someone else needed a placeholder.
In the kingdom of God, we can occasionally feel that we were asked to serve in a ministry as a placeholder. There are times we are serving and we are simply waiting for someone else to come do it better than us. We constantly compare our work to others, we feel inadequate to be in that position, and we doubt we will amount to much more than simply holding a place.
However, the Bible says in Colossians 3:23, “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”
That tells us that God doesn’t want us to serve in a mediocre role; He wants us to serve to the best of our ability. We aren’t meant to work with the mentality that we are holding the place until someone better fills it in; we are to work with our minds focused on the Kingdom and work heartily like He calls us to do.
Whatever area we are serving in, we need to do more than just hold a place. We need to do the work heartily, strive to improve, and fill that role in the way God intended.
If you find yourself in a place where you feel like there’s someone better out there, then remember He called you for this purpose. If you feel stagnant in your role, find ways to improve, look for ways to challenge yourself, and pray God helps you grow in that ministry.
You are called to serve in His Kingdom, and that calling is precious. Serve Him heartily. You, my friends, are more than a placeholder.
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Ashley lives in San Antonio, Texas. She has been married to her husband, Tyler, for almost ten years, and together they are raising three wild, but sweet, boys.
She has a bachelor’s degree in English and is currently staying home with her children. Ashley has a burden for moms with young kids and is excited about her most recent role as the coordinator of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) in her church.
Ashley serves in various other ministries in her church, alongside her husband, the Pastor of New Members and Growth Tracks. She enjoys coffee, writing, fitness, and crocheting and is always looking for a new hobby!