11/17/2021
God knows our hearts, and Jesus knows us too, but unless we are given instructions from Them, or the Holy Spirit, we can’t know these things about one another…. Or can we? There are occasions when we are given insight into a person, or situation that there is no way we could have known. This is not accomplished by mind reading, or deductive reasoning, but through the gift of empathy, or seeing into another’s heart, and we are led to know these things so that we can accomplish the will of God.
“Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”
John 4:16-19 ESV
Yesterday morning I was going to one of my company’s offices across town, so as I drew near I felt hungry and decided to pull into a McDonald’s restaurant for a quick sausage biscuit and a cup of orange juice. I stopped at the microphone, placed my order, and then drove on to the first window to pay for my meal. A middle aged woman pulled the sliding glass door back and took my credit card as she repeated aloud my order and the amount. There was something about this woman that unsettled me, and as the Spirit came over me I could hear myself saying “Are you alright?” She didn’t respond to my question as if she didn’t hear me so I asked her “Are you having a good morning?” At this point she turned and looked at me, and I could see that she was trying to decide how to respond. Then her countenance dropped and I felt her sorrow as she responded “No, No I’m not. It’s hard to have a good day when you are working and your mother is at home very ill!” Then as she stood looking at me I heard myself speaking again “I am so sorry to hear that, but thank you for sharing that with me. I am going to pray for your mother today.” At this tears came to her eyes, and she turned so that I couldn’t see her face. This was a God moment… I hadn’t read her mind, nor was I directing the conversation, but by being available, and obedient, it was happening all the same, and the Holy Spirit was talking to this woman through me. I repeated that I would be praying for her mother, and then, as she gently cried, I drove away in prayer. Something was happening in this woman’s life and it involved her mother, and had included me as a messenger, but the entirety of the situation was beyond me. Other than my obedience to God’s will, and my prayers throughout the day, the part I was playing in this spiritual exchange between the Lord, and this woman, was complete, and the glory of God was about to be revealed to her.
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’”
Isaiah 6:8-9 ESV
Moments like this might not happen every day, they didn’t happen everyday to Isaiah ether, but when they do occur we need to be prepared to say “Lord here I am”, and to allow Him to use us. In such incredible instances we will be given the gifts we need to do whatever it is that we are being asked by Him to do. Sometimes we are given specific words to say, and at other times we receive strength, incredible humility, exceptional love, a prayer, or like I was yesterday… a glimpse into someone’s heart. Whatever it is we are being used at that moment to bring Him glory, and to impact the lives of His people in a powerful way.
“Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.”
Isaiah 6:11-12 ESV
Isaiah was told what the impact of the words he was given to repeat would be, and they would shake his world, but many times we do our part and never know the end of the story. We witness to a stranger and after planting the gospel seed we lose contact with them and never see it grow. We do our part, feel the Spirit as he moves, and then know in our heart that God will take it from here. Occasionally we might be a leading character in the story that God is writing, like Isaiah was, but most of the time we play small parts, like I did yesterday at McDonald’s.
So, are we ready to answer the call? Are we ready to obey? Are we ready to receive whatever gifts we need to accomplish what we have been asked to do? Are we prepared to be trusted with the task at hand, and perhaps with a glimpse into another’s heart that is breaking?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for showing us through the life of Isaiah, of other bible characters, and most certainly through your Son Jesus Christ, how we are to respond to you, and obediently do your will. Thank you for allowing us to be used by you, trusted with the hearts and lives of others, and made a part of bringing you glory by our actions. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is with us always, and sends messengers as angels into our lives to speak to us, comfort us, and give us help in every way. Praised be your name for every time you call our name, or ask “whom shall I send?” You are merciful Oh Lord, and you use your saints as instruments of your care, and as you pour out your grace into the world. Use us now Father, and send us forth in the name of Jesus to bring glory to you as He did. Purify us in the blood of Jesus. Wash away our sins and make us worthy. Call us righteous, and then send us forth as your children to do your will. Don’t let this cup pass from us, but your will be done through our obedience and love for you. We cry out day and night…Abba, Father, and our Loving God, come now and use us to bring you glory forevermore.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:2, 4-8 ESV
Rich Forbes