The Purpose of Serving God
Job 21:15 Job, challenges the simplistic view of his friends that God punishes the wicked, observing that the wicked often prosper while the righteous suffer. His question, “Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?” Like Job, there is a purpose for us in serving God.
10/6/20262 min read
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him? Job 21:15 (NKJV)
In response to his friends' simplistic view that God punishes the wicked, Job poses the question who is the Almighty that they should serve Him and what profit is there in prayer. He states that the wicked often prosper while the righteous suffer, questioning the need to serve God and pray to Him. Job is not denying his faith in God, but expressing his doubts about the benefits of worship and prayer, reflecting the struggle to understand God’s nature and the reasons for his suffering.
As believers we need to refrain from making our struggles and devotion the same thing. We can let our troubles overcome us and ask God if He is still listening to us and why our prayers are not working, challenging the worth of even praying to Him. We can even get mad at Him when we have troubles, assuming our service means He will guard us from trials. Devotion is the heart posture we make for a life dedicated to God’s will, while prayer is the voice through which our devotion is expressed. It is because of a life of prayer and devotion that we are able to weather the storms of this life. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, " In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." Our trials, refine and prove our faith the way fire refines gold, and our faith endures and is considered far more precious than gold to God, and results in honor when Christ is revealed.
Choose to have a heart of service, not looking to your own personal interests or what you will receive from it. Serve to glorify God, aligning your life with its intended purpose and anchoring your life in something eternal. Follow the example of Jesus, who came to this world not to be served, but to serve. Serve God to bring inner peace and to provide a moral compass that protects you from harmful choices, deepening your relationship with Him. Serve God in love, by helping the homeless, being there for those in need, bringing someone to Christ, or any act of service God puts in your heart. The purpose of serving God is to show your love not only to Him but the world around you.