By Chaplain Joy

Le Page Smith, MA, BCC

Inspiration has been felt by most everyone among us. What is the feeling and where do we learn the most about it?

The most inspiring book ever written came to us through 40 men who wrote on scrolls of papyrus or parchment what God was directing them to transcribe.  Billions of readers throughout history have found the Bible uplifts hearts and spiritually stimulates our minds. This is the fulcrum from which we believe God leads our lives.

When we are inspired by God and follow through we are choosing to be influenced by God. This results in our lives extending help to others—by following the way our minds and spirits are being directed. This is how God’s work gets done on planet Earth.

Scripture says, “Many are called, but few are chosen,” Matthew 22:14.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ whose inspiration finds us following through with what He wants us to do. We become the “chosen” ones as we obey when inspired by Him to serve.

It is my hope that every human hears “the knock” of God on their hearts at some point while living here on earth. Uncountable numbers of us have responded and seek to know what it is that God desires for our lives.

Countless books are filled with actions people have been inspired to achieve. It is beyond argument that needs met for people and for the Earth itself when folks take action after listening to the call of our hearts.

A little event comes to mind when years ago while at the annual State Fair enjoying a walk through the carnival booths, I stopped to talk with a couple who were running a booth. It was enjoyable then as I saw a couple of little children running here and there with dirt on them galore. The ground was the only place they could play. I asked her how she was managing so well watching her children while working at the booth at the same time. She explained that in a week they would be finished, “we move on.” Then added, “I sure wish I could get away long enough to find a laundry and to wash a load of clothes.” I found myself offering to take their clothes home to wash them, adding that I could have them back to her within a couple of hours. At first she said “no.” We talked about other things a bit then I said, “Please, let me help you by washing the clothes. I can have them back to you by 4 PM this afternoon.”

She said, “Yes. Actually, that would be wonderful!”

I was living with my parents at the time with my three young sons. When my mother saw me loading those clothes in her washing machine she asked for detail– then objected. I took some flack on that one.

It was a small thing to help that woman with her family needs. It felt like a “divine thing” because my heart was aglow as I unloaded the clean clothes from my car and took them to the woman at the carnival booth. I am remembering the details and can mentally see the scene many decades later. She may still remember as well as her husband, too, may hold that memory.

It is a remarkable thing to cogitate on how God’s people are everywhere on this earth.  If we keep our eyes and ears open to the needs of others they are more likely to be seen and met.  And, through being “a servant to all” we become part of something much bigger than ourselves. And, it brings considerable joy to our lives.

Author information: Joy Le Page smith is a newspaper columnist who has authored four books. See these on her website: Healing-with-Joy.com where you will also find hundreds of articles written to help people who are hurting.

Also view–FREE–on Joy’s website her children’s book titled The Little Mountain Goat Who Was Afraid of High Places.

By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA

Years back our then bachelor son, Tim, “lost his heart” to a lovely, young woman. He was inspired, yet, distraught as her job found his friend moving to another state. However, Tim seemed tireless, able to make a “short distance” out of the 450 miles it took to visit her.

Once, while we had an hour together before his leave-taking he and I talked and prayed together. Upon telling him of something I planned to do for his friend, Tim’s eyes filled with love and he said, “Oh, Mom . . . if you do that for her it will be as if you are doing it for me.”

A momentary sense of déjà vu—then a recognition that Jesus had spoken these same words yet a bit differently to His disciples: “I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Matthew 25:40).

When Tim made this point on behalf of the one he loved his words were rich with meaning. In an instant I saw how it was Jesus’ love for His beloved that saw Him beseeching us to serve. Surely, we have done it unto Him when we serve another who is in need.

Perhaps occasionally it is important to examine “heart motives.”  Is the service we are giving to our fellow man really an act of love? Done with love of our Lord? Or, out of our hopes to please, gain favor or be noticed? Prestige? A place in the “inner circle”? Power? How often are deeds done out of a sense of obligation—working to pay back what we have received? The truth is we don’t have to prove our worth or earn our space! God created us. We are His children — good, acceptable and beloved. On the other hand, pride is, at times, a motivator. Pride can come through our always being the one who helps. Always needing to be the giver. Sometimes it is good and right to sit back, allowing others opportunity to serve. It is very important to also be the receiver of loving care.

There are times when we serve others out of sympathy. Even though this emotion is a valid response, we best be careful. Here again there can be a self-serving twist. Conrad Baars, MD wrote in Healing the Unaffirmed, that the emphasis must lie “on a state of being for and with another, of being moved inwardly by his goodness and unique worth prior to doing anything for him.”

Other times, out of fear of disappointing another or losing face, we give. But, when we look at the life of our Master, we see that of all the things He could have done, He moved and acted only through the motivation of love. In His Words, “I do only what I see the Father doing.”  And His Father, after all, was love. For, “ . . . For God is love,” (1 John 4:8).

Now let’s take a moment to look at what, for many of us, is a common failure: the inability to accept and lovingly serve our own selves. Dr. Carl Jung put it eloquently:  “what if I should discover that the least of all brethren, the poorest of all beggars, the most insolent of all offenders, yes, even the very enemy himself – that these live within me; that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I am to myself the enemy who is to be loved?”  Jung was concerned about our refusing to receive the least among the lowly in ourselves with open arms.”

We esteem our bodies enough to shave and bathe, groom and consume nourishing foods, yet whip the inner self into frenzies of doing as we have not yet discovered the beauty of being. Once we are able to cherish the true essence of ourselves and what we were created to be, that which is done to validate and love ourselves will act as springboards moving us speedily and spontaneously into God-directed service. New fervor and vision will be held.

Could it be possible Jesus wore a smile when He said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul. And love your neighbor as yourself?” Was He gently using humor to make His point of how far we are from loving God until we can also love ourselves? Then our neighbors?

Do not mistake hedonism; pervasive consumerism; demanding or expecting allegiance from others; and outright selfishness as the act of validly loving oneself. However, truly knowing how to generously treat the person called “me” to the best life has to offer is an artful way to live—one in which our hearts can celebrate!

Let us “break forth into joy, giving thanks for the beauty of our personhood.”  And, in so doing heap love upon our Lord.

Joy Le Page Smith is a Board-certified clinical chaplain with with degrees in psychology and theology. View her children’s book as a video at healingwithjoy.blogspot.com Also, find many articles addressing life’s difficulties at Healing-with-Joy.com