unsplashfloral

Do you see that woman over there? She’s the one that shines Jesus. She’s the one you’d pick, if you were God.

But what about you?

What does God have in mind for you?

That’s a question I once asked. I remember kneeling at an altar at the front of the church. Most everybody had left, and tears splashed the altar.

Show me, God. Show me what you want from me.

When I stood, I saw two children sitting behind me. A little girl with long blond hair. Her brother, just barely in his teens but far more experienced with life than he should be.

“Hey kiddos,” I said, wiping away tears.

Lord, maybe we can pick up this conversation later. 

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Can you take me home?” the teen asked.

“Are you hungry?”

I already knew the answer. Dad was in jail. Mom addicted. There was a good chance that these children, who came in on the church bus, hadn’t eaten all day, maybe all weekend depending on mom’s condition. 

“Can we have a cheeseburger?” the little one asked.

“And a shake?” her brother said.

As I took the five-year-old by the hand, her brother walked ahead.

Suddenly my answer came clear.

This is what I want you to do. 

Rather than a big five-year-plan or a spectacular dream, God wanted me to fill the tummies of these beautiful children.

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Mark 16:15 NLT

When we begin to walk closely with our Heavenly Father, His heartbeat slowly transfers to ours. It’s that feeling you feel. That longing to do something more. That desire to make a difference, to tell others about Jesus, to share the news that God is big and He changes us.

But are we listening, or are we super focused on the five-year plan? You know, the BIG plan.

The first step in any of those plans is to be faithful daily, listen to His voice, and respond right where we are.

Years later I heard from the grown-up man who is now a young father. When he sent the Facebook message, he said, “A few years later, I saw your picture in the newspaper. I cut it out and put it on my refrigerator. My sister and I loved you because you showed us Jesus.”

That picture was in the paper because my first book was published. It pales in consideration of his words.

Lord, what if I had missed the significance of those small acts?

As you walk closely with God, it will lead you out of your comfort zone in a hundred different ways.

But it will also show you possibilities right where you are. 

He’s chosen you to love those on His heart.

Who will that be?

Suzie

Just you and God

Turn it all of for the next ten minutes. Your phone. The TV. Your computer. Sit quietly in His presence and ask Him to show you one person on His heart who is in your path.

That might be your child. Your spouse. A neighbor. Your mom. A stranger.

Q: What do you feel God leading you to do? 

It might be as simple as a phone call or a note, a dinner, a hug, a word of affirmation. It might be sacrificial like paying for dinner, or camp, or giving time when time is hard to find.

Q: Describe a time that someone showed you Jesus when you least expected it.

Q: Read Luke 16:10. What takes place when we are faithful in the small things?