Today’s verse says: “Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them” (verses 30-31). My brother, my sister, this reminds me of a story: a few months ago, a sister in Christ came to call me to go and pray with a believer who had been bedridden for many months. We used to go and pray with her once or twice weekly. After a a month and half, the lady called me to say she had been able to get out of her bed and she was out of her house… after five months! We glorified the Lord. The days following, I called her to go and continue our prayers with her, she told me she felt sleepy… A few days later, I called and she said the same thing. I tried a third time and I finally understood that she did not need prayers anymore because she could now get out of her bed and move around! Because she was sick, she was looking for the blessing but certainly not the blesser, while finding the blesser gives us long-lasting healing and peace! The sad story about this is that I was recently informed that her condition recently worsened. Now, why is this story so relevant to many of us? Because many of us behave exactly like this believer and do not allow the Lord to perform the miracle He wants to accomplish in us: we are always looking for Him for our immediate needs, we ask Him healing in different parts our life… for the wrong reasons! Now, let’s look at the attitude of Simon’s mother-in-law, who was sick in bed with a fever. As soon as Jesus took her hand, lifted her up, the fever left, and she began to serve them! My friend, her response is the one Jesus is looking for in all of us: once touched by Christ, we should get up and serve others. You see, the Bible says we do not receive because we ask with wrong motives (James 4:3) while, like Simon’s mother-in-law, all of us are made to serve God. Whatever you are good at, you can use it to serve the Lord, the church, and your communities. Quite often, people write to me that they like my daily meditations and are moved by them, my friend, it is because I have only used the writing talent the Lord has provided me with to write about Him instead of writing novels or books like I used to do in the past! Unfortunately many believers have still not understood that serving others helps to train us away from arrogance, envy, and resentment and that it is where our master Jesus stopped (before His return) that is also where we are meant to continue, using our spiritual gifts, our passion, our abilities, our personality and our experiences as a community of servants in His power and in His name to help others along their journeys on earth. We’re shaped to serve God. Whatever we’re good at, we can be doing for God. No matter who you are or where you are, you can be an instrument of God’s peace. But for that, you should make yourself available to the Lord first by becoming a mature believer who is more concerned about serving and reaching out than about his own convenience and comfort. Yes, we need to learn to shift from, “I’m looking for a church that meets my needs and blesses me,” to “I’m looking for a place to serve and be a blessing.” Therefore, as each of us is afflicted by one “fever” or another, let’s all invite Jesus to come into our home today, to take our hand, lift us up and heal us so we may serve Him and others. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [retweet] [facebook]