Ok, my last blog was kind of heavy, all true, all important for your life, but still a little heavy. Let's talk about something a little less intense this time. I had something happen in my store last week that almost blew my mind.
As I was checking out a gentleman, a rather large and somewhat imposing gentleman (of course, when one considers my size, a great number of people could fall into the category of imposing) something happened that I considered out of the norm. In the middle of the small chit-chat that happens during checkout, right as he was speaking to me, he stopped and turned to a couple that had come up next to him.
As he looked at the couple he instantly said "You don't know me and I don't know you, but the Holy Spirit has just told me to tell you that the Lord knows the burden you have been carrying and He wants you to know that He will lift your burden. You will see His blessings, His mercy and His love."
As the man at the register continued to speak I watched the man he was speaking to. His eyes went from questioning suspicion to amazement to understanding to appreciation to joy with little tears in the corners of his eyes.
As I stood there listening, my mind was racing, too. My first thought was "what in the world is this guy doing!" Then I realized that he was actually speaking from the Holy Spirit. I was amazed at the effect it was having on this man and his wife. Then I was amazed that the man at the counter had the chutzpah (sorry, that was the best word I could think of because the words like daring and courage and audacity and bravery just aren't enough to describe his actions) to speak this way to people he had never seen nor met. I admired his courage and envied his ability to speak a message from God with such obvious ease.
I thought, man, if I could just speak a message of encouragement in the power of the Holy Spirit like that wouldn't it be great. Then I realized that maybe the Holy Spirit had tried to use me like that as I grew up and I just didn't have the faith and the courage do what the Holy Spirit wanted to me to do.
I remember, as a young man, sitting by the bed of my aunt, one of the most precious people in my mother's life, as she lay dying of bone cancer. I remember the the voice in my head that said, "You have the power to heal her if you will just touch her and declare her healed in the name of Jesus Christ!" Well, of course I was too afraid that people would think that I was crazy and sat there and watched my dear aunt die.
I've never escaped the feeling that I could have changed that if I had just had the courage to trust a God that I told people I trusted. A God who says that He is the Great Physician. A God who tells us that if we have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed we could move mountains. Did He lie or am I just not as trusting in Him as I should be.
God didn't call each of us to exercise the spiritual gift healing and He didn't call each of us to exercise the spiritual gift of prophecy but He does call each of us to trust Him. And he gives this promise for each of us: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
God has encouragement of all sorts in His Word for you if you have made the decision to make Him Lord of your life. And if He is Lord of your life you can so easily make a difference in the lives of others by just giving a word of encouragement. You don't have to have a spiritual gift of encouragement to bless the life of those you come in contact with. Just share a word of encouragement, not lies, not flattery, just honest encouragement.
No comments:
Post a Comment