Nothing Is Too Small
The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not cohabit with her. 1 Kings 1:4 (NAS)
I have a confession to make: I struggle with the feeling of not doing enough for God while at the same time longing to do more. I’m old enough to know that every day matters, and when you have momentum, you have to run with it. As normal as this may feel to me—and as inspirational as it can be—it can also bring feelings of discontentment. Not too long ago, Cup of Joy celebrated our ten-year anniversary! I am in awe of God for all that He has done in and through us, but I continue to feel that “greater things are to be done in this city.” Of course, I can spiritualize this longing by believing God wants to do even more than He has already done through Cup of Joy. To be honest with you, I really feel that He does want us to do more. But the flip side is that it is easy to allow doing “more” to keep me from enjoying all that He has already done.
You don’t have to be in ministry to feel the burden of doing more. I can be cleaning a closet, and before I enjoy my organized closet, I find myself looking around with discouragement because of all the other closets that need organizing. As I long for God to do more in and through me, I stumbled upon the story of Abishag. You can read her story in 1 Kings. We are told that Abishag was a beautiful virgin. Now, I’m not exactly sure why her beauty and virginity were important for the task she was assigned, but Scripture tells us it was in her job description. Scripture also tells us that King David was close to death and having difficulty staying warm. Because David was king and the people loved serving him, they immediately looked for a solution.
One might think they would knit some blankets or at least invent a heating pad since Israel’s greatest king was cold, but they did not do that. Instead they looked for a beautiful virgin to lie beside him to keep him warm. Can you imagine how this girl must have felt when she was told she had been chosen to keep the king warm? And specifically, when she was told she was to keep him warm by lying with him—not by keeping a fire going in the fireplace.
I wonder how Abishag felt when she realized that she had been chosen primarily because she was a beautiful virgin and not because of any special talent or skill she had developed. Did she struggle with feelings of worthlessness? It is very common to be encouraged to have a great self-image and feel valued whenever we are asked to serve, but I wonder if this young woman felt useless. Unfortunately, scripture doesn’t tell us how Abishag felt, but we are told that she did exactly what was asked of her.
When I came upon this story, I started laughing as I pictured the servants telling Abishag it was time to lay with the king! I also smiled as I thought about her obedience. She did exactly what she was asked to do, and we are reading her story thousands of years later. If you also find yourself laughing at her position in the king’s court think about this: no job is too small when it comes to God. I don’t know what God has called you to do, but one thing I do know is, we are to be faithful to do it for His glory and not to build up our self-worth. Jesus said in Matthew 25:35-39 that whatever we do, whether it’s visiting someone, helping clothe someone, or giving a drink to someone, we are doing that service unto Him. I wonder if Abishag thought, “Jehovah, I’m doing this for You” each time she laid with King David. Of course, we won’t know this until we have the chance to talk with her in heaven, but we can be assured that God used her in the life of David to bring comfort when nothing or no one else could.
When we are tempted to think we are not doing anything important for God or His children, be reminded of Abishag. We may not have a specific story written about us in the Bible, but we can be assured that when we are faithful to serve Jesus here on earth, He will call us by name when we get to heaven and say, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant!” Then we will celebrate all that He did in and through us with all the saints. I am so thankful that no action is too small when we are doing it for Him!