You Servants of God, ELW 825
1 You servants of God, your Master proclaim,
and publish abroad his wonderful name;
the name, all victorious of Jesus extol;
his kingdom is glorious and rules over all!
2 Ascended on high, almighty to save,
yet still he is night, his presence we have.
The great congregation his triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus, our king!
3 Salvation to God who sits on the throne!
Let all cry aloud and honor the Son.
The praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
fall down on their faces, and worship the Lamb.
4 Then let us adore and give him his right,
all glory and pow'r and wisdom and might,
all honor and blessing, with angels above,
and thanks never ceasing, and infinite love!
Devotion
The theme of this whole week is humility: a God who is humble, followers who are called to put themselves second, and a messiah who suffers for the sake of the world.
In a Bible study I participated in, participants were asked to get down flat on their faces before God each day before doing their homework. This prone position, we were told, would help us to be humble before God. An informal survey of the nearly 100 participants showed that none were very comfortable with this practice, and most quit after a couple of tries.
One woman told me that, though it was weird at first, the more she put herself in that position, the easier it became and she began to look forward to it.
This is exactly what it’s like to be called a servant of God. It’s not comfortable at first, but when we serve in obedience to God, we soon discover that we can define ourselves in no other way.
Prayer
Lord God, you are the servant to all. Keep us strong as we seek to step outside of that which is comfortable and serve the kingdom in your name. Amen.