"A Penny for Your Thoughts"

I was sitting here reading about how vital the knowledge of the Word of God is to our Christian lives and growth, and I thought about the old phrase, "A Penny for Your Thoughts". When I say that to someone, I'm not asking that I somehow gain a special ability to "see" what they are thinking...I am asking that person to speak to me, to put in words what they are thinking. And I thought, "That is exactly what God has done; the Bible is a written record of the Words of God, a special revelation to us of what has been and continues to be on the mind of God!" God did not leave us with only the knowledge of Him that can be gained by what we call "general revelation"; in other words, everyone has the opportunity to look around and see the visible evidence of a Creator. Romans tells us that evidence is "plain" for all to see. But we also know that as fallen as we all are, we do not always "see" things as we should, so God went so much further than general revelation and gave us His Word! It is amazing that Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, desired to communicate with His creation! Apart from His initiation, His pursuit of us, His revelation, we would never come, we would never know Him! Oh, thank you Lord, for drawing us!

"Saint of the Little Ways"

It all started the other morning with an email from a friend....you know, one of those "chain" things that you cannot break, and I was told "to open it only when you have the time to respond". So, I opened it, and it was about Mother Theresa, and how she was given the posthumous title of "The Saint of the Little Ways", meaning that she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love.

Then there was this prayer:

Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.

Let His presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

He is there for each and every one of us.

I thought about my day, and generally my life, and realized that everything I do could be classified as "little". I work for several people a few days a week, and my jobs are "little" - I don't feel like I do anything productive, although those I work for seem to appreciate what I do, and I am very grateful for a job. As I thought about it further, the past 2 years have been a huge puzzle to me. It seemed that God was finally opening up opportunities for me to teach, and until the past few months, things were very exciting and busy. Lately, though, seems that I am moving at a snail's pace and wondering what God is up to in my life.

I teach a "little" Bible study once a month to a group of 4 ladies, and though I am enjoying the ladies and the opportunity to share the Word of God, I have no idea what God has in mind for this small group.

So, with all these thoughts running through my mind this morning, I opened the devotionals that I generally read. "My Utmost for His Highest" for October 13 was titled Individual Discouragement and Personal Enlargement. Chambers talks about Moses and "how he saw the oppression of his people and felt that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit, he started to right their wrongs." After the first strike for God...God allowed him to be driven into blank discouragement", and that discouragement lasted 40 years! At the end of that 40 years, God came and told him to go and deliver His people, but Moses' response at this time was, "Who am I, that I should go?" Chambers said Moses was right in that he was trained and in a position to help his people 40 years earlier, but "he was not the man for the work until he learned communion with God". Then Chambers said, "If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a big personal enlargement ahead". Another devotional I read regularly had these words: "You, too, can bring Joy to My heart by faithful service. Faithful service in the little things. Be faithful. Do your simple tasks for Me."

I know that I am not alone in feeling that I contribute so little to the enlargement and advancement of His Kingdom. Past accomplishments don't seem to count for much right now. In fact, J.I. Packer said thinking about past accomplishments was like sitting around and dreaming about manure! He was referring to Paul's estimation of his past accomplishments, comparing them with "dung"! And though I know there may be some folks who enjoy dreaming about manure, I'm not one of them!

I don't know the answer to this dilemma: do I just make the decision to start another Bible study and see if anyone signs up? Or do I continue doing what I'm doing and doing it well and with great love, and trust that God will continue to provide opportunities when the time is right? Do I relax and concentrate on being faithful in the "little" things and wait for Him provide the opportunities to serve Him? Or do we make the opportunities, knowing there is such a need for more understanding of the Word of God; after all, I've always heard that God can more easily guide a "moving target"!

What would YOU do?