When God Shows Up

Dear Friends,

I want to share with you an experience I had this morning that touched my soul deeply. My morning had been busy and I was getting ready to leave to pick up my daughter from school to take her to a doctor's appointment. I had gone outside to try and catch someone I had just met with and when I was rushing back inside (to get my keys to leave), a lady had just pulled up and she opened her door and she asked me if I had a moment.

In my haste, I said that I don't have long since I had to pick up my daughter. So, I stood by her open door as she sat in her car. At first I did not recognize her, but when I got closer I realized that I had visited with her once before about 1 1/2 years ago. It was our only interaction, totalling maybe 45 minutes. She had a smile on her face as she spoke and she recounted our brief interaction. She said that since we met, the Lord had laid it on her heart to pray for me and my ministry. She said that she likes to take long walks down to the park and that the Lord kept laying my name and our church on her heart. She wanted me to know that I, and the church, were being prayed for without even knowing it. She metioned that she prayed that our ministry would be dynamic and she had a sense that God wanted to do something great.

She confessed that she usually doesn't share like this with others, but she felt compelled to come by and share it with me...just so that I would know.

I was deeply touched by her words, her spirit, and her faithfulness to God's leading. It touched me to the core of my being that a sister in the faith, who did not know me or our church, was listening to the promptings of the Spirit and laying us before God. I was reminded of the words in 1 Thessalonians 5:11-18 (I'll quote verses 11 and 18, but I encourage you to read the rest), "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing...Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

The Body is more than a group of people who gather together on Sunday mornings, or mid-week Bible studies, or weekly LIFE groups. The Body is the whole family of believers. We exist to honor God in the ways we encourage each other, pray for each other, and share our lives together...even if it comprises of two short interactions. Those interactions can change someone's day, someone's perspective, someone's life.

Today, God showed up in the form of a faithful lady whose name I do not even know...but whose faith touched me to the depths of my soul. I rejoice and give thanks and I pray that I will allow God to use me that way every day!!!

Loving God, thank you for the people You bring into our lives that put our lives back into perspective and who honor You with their faithful obedience to Your direction. Thank you for using them to turn our focus from worldly pursuits to spiritual pursuits. God, I want to be like that! I want people to see You through me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.