Do you ever catch yourself feeling distant from God even while you’re busy serving him?

Maybe you go to church every Sunday, serve in youth group, meet with women from your church one-on-one, faithfully attend discipleship group…You’re truly doing all the things. And yet, your faith feels dry. You’re exhausted and confused by the lack of joy in your life.

Have you been there?

In Psalm 50, God addresses the fact that while the Israelites continually remember to offer sacrifices to the Lord, they’ve actually forgotten this important truth: God does not need their sacrifices.

“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.’”

PSALM‬ ‭50‬:‭8‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

All the fullness of the world belongs to our God and there is nothing the we could ever offer him that he does not already possess! His well-being and character are not dependent on how many “sacrifices” we make or “offerings” we present. He is not a temperamental God whose emotions rise and fall unpredictably when we fail to recognize his greatness because he is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:6). He is perfectly sufficient and secure in and of himself. He needs nothing.

While we no longer live under the sacrificial system like the Israelites did—Praise God for Jesus, our ultimate sacrifice for salvation!—We can learn much from God’s response to their many offerings. They offered sacrifices continually before him, and he does not rebuke them for this, but he does point out what they’re missing.

The Israelites had become so busy making offerings and sacrifices that they missed the majesty, beauty, and power of their God. They forgot the pervasiveness of his rule. They forgot that his sovereignty and ownership extends to the farthest reaches of the universe. He is a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, knows every bird and beast that moves on the earth, and perceives the hidden places of every human heart (Proverbs 21:2 Psalm 44:21-22; Jeremiah 17:9-10; 1 Samuel 16:7).

Although our God does not need us, he desires and delights in us. Although he is fully capable of bringing glory to himself without us, he desires our worship. The sacrifice he desires is not physical offerings of bulls and goats, but instead, our thanksgiving and confident trust in his care for us.

“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

PSALM‬ ‭50‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

It is not that serving at your church, ministering to your friends and family, or striving to do what’s right is bad. But if we serve out of obligation or in hope that God will love us more, we are not only missing the point of our service, we are missing the very character of God.

To think that the mission of God would suffer without us is to question God’s sovereignty and power.

To think that God is hovering over us waiting eagerly to strike the gavel of judgment is to misunderstand his justice and question his steadfast love.

And to think that our service to God is what earns us a spot in heaven is to render Christ’s death and resurrection invalid.

We work and serve and give and love, not because it is our debt to pay but because it is our gift to give out of thanksgiving for the mercy and grace of God. It is our gratitude for the gospel that fuels a life of holiness and service to God.

The fact that God, out of a desire for his glory and our good, would see the depths of our sin and respond by sending Jesus should astound us. None of us is truly good (Romans 3:10-12). All have fallen short of the glory of God and deserve his wrath (Romans 3:23, 6:23). And yet Jesus came to this earth, fully man and fully God, to live the perfect life we couldn’t live. He took our sin upon himself and died in our place, bearing the wrath of God on our behalf. Three days later, he was raised to life, defeating death, hell, and grave forever (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Now, if we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we are saved (Romans 10:9).

This is the gospel! This is why I serve. Because the perfectly holy and righteous God who saved me calls me to serve, give, love, and live like he did.

So why do you serve?

Out of obligation? The desire for approval? Fear of judgment from God or others?

Or is your service motivated by gratitude for the salvation you’ve received in Christ?

If, like many of our sisters in Christ, you find yourself burnt out from serving and maybe serving for the wrong reasons, consider asking yourself the following questions. Pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the motives of your heart and guide you as you respond with obedience to the areas where he might bring conviction.

1. Why do you serve?
2. Are you burnt out? If so, is this because you are serving for the wrong reasons or simply because you’ve overcommitted yourself? Being burnt out does not automatically equate to wrong motivations.
3. What are your priorities in this season? What are God’s priorities for you? Pull out your calendar or planner. Does your time usage reflect those priorities?
4. How can you reorient your heart and proactively check it often so that you can joyfully serve the Lord out of gratitude for his grace?
5. How can you move forward in service while keeping your heart in check? Pause and evaluate, maybe even take a step back, but don’t throw in the towel on serving the Lord!

“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
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PSALM ‭50‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬