Daily devotion – When days are too short and tasks are overwhelming.
There are times when we are consumed with serving—perhaps due to illness in the family, or because we ourselves are unwell. Parents especially understand those seasons when pressures collide, and you feel required to be in three places at once.
In those moments, you wonder how you will get through it all without falling apart. Yet somehow, you do.
Over all of us who know and love our Lord Jesus Christ, there is an even busier and more faithful Saviour. It is often only at the end of such days—after the final drop-off, the last load of washing, when we finally collapse into a chair completely spent—that we begin to reflect.
And what a wonder it is.
As we look back, we realise that these seasons are not uncommon. But in that moment of exhaustion, there can also be a quiet rising within—a heart that begins to overflow with thanksgiving. For somehow, by God’s grace, you did what seemed impossible. You were, as it were, “in three places at once.” You were present for the needs of those you love.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” — Psalm 46:1
Yet there is a subtle danger at the end of such outpouring.
We must not allow the enemy to lead us into “needing” gratitude from those we have served. Instead, let us turn our hearts upward in praise—thanking the Lord for His unfailing ministry to us, and for the privilege, however small in comparison, of being like Him in serving others.
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” — Colossians 3:23
Jesus did not serve in order to receive thanks. He served out of deep compassion and love for those who were like sheep without a shepherd.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” — Mark 10:45
Yes, we will grow weary. But alongside that weariness, there will also be a deep and abiding thankfulness—that we have been given the blessing of washing the dusty feet of those we love.
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” — John 13:14