A Teachable Moment

No, this isn't a teachable moment I had with one of the kids. It's a teachable moment that God had with me this morning. In sharing with you, I will have to reveal something about myself that I really don't like. And that's hard. But I learned in a recent Wednesday night service that when God speaks to us about something, we are supposed to share it, not keep it to ourselves. And I truly do want God to prune this out of me, so perhaps "revealing" this icky stuff will help that process along. And remember a while back I posted about lessons learned and how some lessons must be learned over and over? Such is this lesson...

Do you ever feel like people just look right through you? Like you smile at someone in passing and it's like they don't even see you? Many times, I'm sure, this isn't intentional. I'm sure I haven't acknowledged people before because maybe I've had stuff on my mind and just not seen people who smiled at me. But Satan has a way of using stuff like that to get to me.

What is it in us that makes us have this need to be seen...to be known? Why do I even care?? Sin...that's what.

And then I think I'm just not humble enough. Actually, I know I'm not humble enough. When do you know you're humble? I don't know. But I don't think I have enough of it. Maybe if I had more humility, I wouldn't ponder it so much. I guess that's why I have humility on my list of things to study in my journal.

So that's what happened this morning. I passed at least 2 dozen people who I smiled at and they looked right through me. Every single person I passed. That nagged at me all the way to work this morning. And then I sit down at my desk and the first thing I see is an email from my friend Vicki. It's a devotional entitled "He Knows My Name". She sent it to me because she and I are leaving for Brazil in 3 days with a group from church. One of the bible stories we have planned for the kids down there is about Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10). And the bible point we are emphasizing from that story is how God knows our name. Just like Jesus looked up in that Sycamore tree and called Zaccheus by name even though He had never seen him before....God knows our name, too. And not just our name, but every single thing about us, down to the number of hairs on our head.

So as I read that devotional, the Holy Spirit whispered to me and tears began to flow. And He reminded me that no one else needs to see me or what I do. It's all about Him...spending time with Him...serving for Him...doing things just because it makes Him happy...bringing Glory to Him...all for Him. He's the one who knows my name...who knows me...more intimately than anyone else. He knows my heart. And that's what matters. That I would give and serve and love just because of how Great He is....because He alone deserves it...because He loved me first with a love so great it's hard to fathom.

I love how God will take a simple little bible story for kids in Brazil and use it to speak to me. Not only that, but how He orchestrates all the details....there are so many "points" that could be taught from that one story, but as I was searching out which story for us to share and why, I couldn't get past the one about Zaccheus and Him knowing our name...the email from Vicki coming at just the exact moment that I'm struggling with this again this morning....how He is reinforcing this truth within me before we go to teach it to children in Brazil...

I emailed Vicki and shared all of this with her this morning. One of the things she said to me in return was "I know no one was ignoring you on purpose. God planned it that way, so you would have this lesson today." I'm quite sure she is right.

Father God, thank you that you love me so much, you would plan out all of the little details to bring me this lesson today. In everything I do I want it to be all about You and bringing You Glory....that there would be less and less of me so that there can be more and more of You. Amen.

John 10:1-15