The only reason God does not take us up to heaven immediately when we make the commitment to be Christ followers is to stay here and do some good. Life as we all know, is very hard, and most of us feel we can't do much to change it. But we're wrong. Recent events in life have made me realize, even the little things make a huge difference.In Isaiah 32:1-2, God reveals a powerful picture of what people who follow a righteous leader should look like:
"See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind, and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land."
Wow! Each man (and woman) should be a strong shelter, a place of refuge, a refreshing stream and a place of shade...OUCH! How many of us could say, this is our goal when we wake up in the morning? We are blessed, so we in turn should be a blessing.
Once Jesus arrives on the scene, Our King echoes the same message of love, compassion that Isaiah does. But what's our tendency? To spend way too much time condemning and tell others what they do wrong. The end result; we kill any opportunity to really show them God's love.
What is the one thing that is universal to all of us and makes us all part of the human race? PAIN! Yes, pain...we've all experienced it, we've all lived through it, we're all going to experience it again. Everyone of us wants to mean something, to do something beneficial. If we start looking for opportunities to help ease others pain, we become that refuge that God inspired Isaiah to speak of. We positively affect our sphere of influence and change lives one heart at a time.
How do we do this with everything else in our lives going on? Ask God to start to give you eyes that don't just look, but really see and ears that don't just hear, but really listen. I promise it won't take long before you will see people around you that need an encouraging word, a warm smile, hug or a moment of your time. It's really not as hard as it sounds and it can be done anywhere and any time. You don't need to be trained, schooled or know the bible like the back of your hand...all you need is to be in the moment and look for opportunities. The time is now. Take the challenge and make your goal to be a shelter in the storm and a cup of refreshing water. I also promise it will cause your life to be more purposeful and fulfilled.
Have an awesome day,
Dawn
