Read the Labels...Closely! January 27, 2015 GODS WORD: Then all the kings wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. - Daniel 5:8 My friend Ann reminded me the other day of something that happened a few years ago as she and I were staffing a church spiritual retreat called Pilgrimage (for more info on this Spirit-filled event, visit ntpp.org ). It was the Saturday morning of that three-day retreat that I was scheduled to present a talk on the subject of study. About 15 minutes prior to my talk, I was still nursing a little soreness in my right hip after sleeping on it funny in the camp bed the night before. So I ventured to the supply area and found a bottle marked with what I read being Ibuprofen. I figured that should do the trick so I took 800 mg (4 tablets). Since they were a generic brand I didnt pay any attention that they were light blue in color. In about five minutes, I became extremely relaxed. I got up on the dais and began my talk but noticed that, for some reason, I couldnt get my voice to project any volume! The sound engineer kept turning up the mic, even to the point it started rendering feedback. Normally I dont even use a mic! This was clearly one of the strangest experiences Ive ever had in public speaking. Nonetheless, I completed my talk and gingerly took my seat back at my table. Suddenly I became even more relaxed and sleepy but I just figured it was my age and lack of sleep the night before. Later that day during chapel, when the lights were low and the mood was mellow, I was struggling big time to stay awake! Using my keen Bubba intellect, I knew something different must be going on; maybe a reaction to something in that generic Ibuprofen. So I went back and retrieved the bottle only this time to read the rest of the words on the label: two little letters I failed to read earlier that morning...PM!!! I had basically taken the equivalent of sleepy pills and had been speaking and walking around in a daze all day! (Although I cant recall me giving my talk, I was told I did fine.) Theres a lot of fine print in our world that we must take notice of or possible suffer some consequences. Gods Living Word, the Bible, has lots of fine print as well, but its been put there by authors, theologians, translators and the such to help us understand the dynamics of which it was originally written. But for the most part, based upon what Ive come to know about Gods Word over my life, is that God doesnt speak in fine print. God speaks to us most boldly to our hearts, not our intellect. God speaks to us most clearly in the magnitude of His manifestations, available to us each and every day through others He places in our path. God speaks to us most efficiently, not through pomp and grandeur, but individually in a still, small voice to the innermost parts of our soul. And it was God who spoke to me that Saturday afternoon to go back and re-read the label. Sometimes I can just see God looking down from heaven at me and rolling His eyes!
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:15:40 +0000
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