Today, well early in the a.m., I woke up with a terrible
headache. Usually, I don’t let
headaches stop me, but today I could not move or open my eyes without the pain
intensifying. And…just so you know…I
have a fairly high threshold for pain.
This was a killer headache.
Anyway, I took some pain relief medicine, but that only led to vomiting it back
up. Eventually I was able to eat, take
some medicine, and after some sleep, able to recover. By this time, it was 4 o’clock in the
afternoon. I felt like staying in bed
the rest of the day, but I just couldn’t.
I had prayed for God to heal me from this headache earlier in the day
and He had done just that. I lay there
and thanked Him for not only healing me, but for the fact that I rarely ever
have these headaches that are so disabling on a regular basis to others I know.
I decided to head out and make a visit to one of the four
groups of folks I have become friends with at Starbucks. To my surprise the comfy chairs were all
taken with this group of folks, so I found refuge in the back of the store to
enjoy my iced espresso drink and chocolate croissant. During the two hours that I was there, I had
stimulating conversation with a couple of elderly men…which by the way, I quite
enjoy from time to time. There is SO
much wisdom that comes from the elderly…that is if we listen to what they have
to say!!
One of these gentlemen I have seen on many occasions, but
really hadn’t chatted any more than light conversation in passing. During our conversation, I found him to be a
spiritual man,( but not a Christian man), in that he admitted that when he had
spoken to me in the past he recognized certain spiritual qualities in me. Now, I know that what...or rather who he sees
in me is Jesus. I know that it’s not me,
but the Spirit of the Living God in me.
Our conversation lasted and hour or more covering a vast
array of topics. After asking me what
specific religion I belonged to, he mentioned that so many people had done so
many terrible thinks in the name of God.
He wondered how God could allow these things to happen and continue to
happen. My response to him was that we
have to realize that that, yes, many terrible things have been done in the name
of God, but we must discern that they are not God’s doing. They are things that men do in God’s
name…either knowing that they’re deceiving people or they themselves are the
ones who are deceived. I said that we
must separate these things from God because they are not things that God would
do.
I must say, this was very stimulating conversation and a
very pleasant one, as well. As I left
Starbucks this evening, I felt as though I had accomplished what God had wanted
me to accomplish today. And…even though
I hated every moment of the headache that I had, God used it for His good
because I allowed Him to do so. Had I
not had this headache, I probably would have gone about my day as usual. I most likely would not have been at
Starbucks that late in the day…and I probably never would have had the
conversation with this gentleman. My
prayer for this man is that in his search for spirituality, I pray that he will
find the Creator of spiritual things and not just worship or be content with
spiritual things in general. There is a
definite difference. I also am reminded
that never is there anything wasted in God’s way of life…that is, if we allow
Him to do His work through us. It’s called living a spirit led life. It means that we are sensitive to the leading
of the Holy Spirit at all times, not just on Sundays. And, although I would like to tell you that I
always make the right choices, I have to tell you that, unfortunately, I don’t
always do it. Sometimes I allow my own
intellect to override that gentle leading of the Holy Spirit only to realize
later that I made the wrong choice in the midst of a decision to follow or not
to follow. I’m grateful that God is
loving, kind and patient with me in spite of those moments…which is the perfect
example of how we need to be with others in their walk with the Lord. We’re all in different places in our walk and
none…no...NONE of us have “arrived” at perfection.
So…I write these thoughts out today to encourage you to be
thankful in ALL things…even though it may not be easy. I encourage you to be patient with others
because God is SO patient with us. And, lastly, I
encourage you to be open to the leading of the Lord in all situations, not
allowing your own intellect to be your guide.
God handles things in mysterious and amazing ways. The more we yield to His guidance, the more
amazing things we will see. Today, I’m
trusting God for this man’s salvation. I
believe that seeds were planted today and that God will cause those seeds to
grow…whether or not I ever have another conversation with this man or not. You see, it’s God working through us that
gets the work of salvation done in others.
Be sensitive to His leading and allow Him to do His work…it’s such an
exciting way to live!!
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