Yesterday, I was in bible study and we were talking about five important aspects of the Word: 1)hearing it, 2)reading it, 3)studying it, 4)memorizing it and 5)meditating on it. We shared which one area we wanted to improve on, and there was much discussion about not being able to memorize the Word. (For those of us thriving in menopause right now… we can really relate!) A humble, Godly woman made a statement that troubled me. As a kid, she was always chosen for the lead female role because of her amazing ability to memorize lines. Currently, she had been avoiding her desire to memorize scripture because she didn’t want to get proud in the midst of sharing her ability with others. I was floored. The bible study went on, and we were to share one meaningful scripture in our lives and why it was significant to us. I immediately knew the words of the scripture I wanted to share, and why, but the others who shared before me knew the actual book, chapter and verse. I grabbed my bible to look mine up as quickly as I could, but was called upon to speak before I could find it. I laughed and said… “I don’t know the chapter and verse, but ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’.” My gifted memorization friend jumped in and said… “Philippians 4:13.” Oh how I wish I could do that! Class went on, and at one point I asked the facilitator if I could say something. I turned to my memory gifted friend and said… “Precious, your ability to memorize scripture is a gift from God. Don’t squash it. You blessed me by being able to recall that chapter and verse so quickly. Your fear of pride is not of God. Use your gift!” (Paraphrased) (Sometime s my exuberant communication of encouragement isn’t always understood… I hope it was taken that way!) Satan loves to squash our God given gifts with the simple tactic of FEAR; fear that we might do something wrong, fear that we might offend someone; fear that we might appear proud. And I’ll admit, the possibility of us humans doing it wrong, being offensive or being proud is absolutely possible! HOWEVER…wouldn’t it be wiser to be using our gifts for God’s glory and occasionally make a misstep rather than have the gifts of God thwarted by fear? Heck… all of our mistakes/sins are covered with the price Jesus paid on the cross, so we all should step out in our gifting and do it graciously as possible knowing that we will make mistakes, but that God in His goodness will work all things for our good because we love Him and are called according to His purpose. I was thinking about this precious woman of God while at Panera’s for lunch after church, and about how she so often has an encouraging word in season, like Isaiah 50:40 says. I sat there, and in my heart I said “God, you know how I’ve always wanted to be able to quote your word like others do, but the older I get, the harder and more impossible it seems to get. I don’t want to envy her gift, but I do feel inadequate right now.” I didn’t hear anything back in my spirit. I didn’t feel condemned or ashamed, it was just silence. I finished my meal, took the garbage to the bin at the back of the restaurant and started walking toward the front door. As I walked past a table, a very old man looked up from his sandwich and smiled in my direction as I passed him by. I smiled back. Two steps away, I knew instantly what I was supposed to do. I backtracked and looked at him and said…”I saw that smile.” I got down on both knees and asked him if I could hug him. He lit up like a Christmas tree and hugged me intently. As we broke away from each other, I realized that there was a younger gentleman that was sitting across from him, his son I believe. (And very Jewish looking.) With all the love I could muster for a total stranger, I looked the old man in the eyes and said, “Good Sunday morning to you… and God bless you!” I walked away knowing that God was well pleased. I can’t quote scripture, but God did gift this extrovert with the ability to share the love of God through the simple act of a hug. Am I going to hug the wrong person at the wrong time? Yup! I already have! I’ve hugged the husbands of jealous wives and have made them angry, I’ve hugged introverts that don’t want their space invaded. I’ve hugged senior citizens that have psoriasis so bad that a hug has caused them pain. I even hugged a friend too tightly that just had heart surgery. But because of those mistakes I have learned how to be more gracious as I’ve hugged thousands of people and brought them the tender reminder that God loves them. Thank God for how He’s gifted you to operate in this world. Thank God for your place in the body of Christ. Thank God for your specialness and USE IT for His glory. You are not called to hide your light under a bushel. You are not to fear messing up, actually, it just the opposite. Woe unto him who buries his talent. Read Matthew 25! So, my encouragement for you today… get out there and invoke divine favor upon (bless) someone with the love of God in the way that He has created you to do so! FYI… My memory blessed friend approves the sharing of this message! ☺
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 11:48:51 +0000
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