Clay in the Hands

I was reminded today in reading this about the mustard seed, that God works through our willingness, not our abilities.  God can take what little we have to offer and change the world.  My problem is that I often allow myself to have visions of melodramatic grandeur.  I think to myself, “God can really use me to do great things.”  So I sit around waiting for something huge but miss the little opportunities along the way.

Is it possible that in spite of all the gifts and talents God has given us, it is through our insignificance that God does the best work?  I suppose it is really an issue of submission and obedience.  The smallest act of Christian love can spark untold change.  We just have to be willing to submit to the fact that maybe, just maybe, God has called us to be a little less significant than we think.  

What do you think?

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Yesterday, I talked about the fact that in our rush, we often miss God at work.  I want you to know that God challenged me yesterday to look for him in my day to day activities.  In reflecting on the day, I had a conversation with a person whose grandfather has been in the hospital for a few weeks and is now out and doing better.  It may be a small thing, but had  I not stopped to talk to her, I would have missed this visible working of God in our lives.

In a conversation with another person, I was told that God has really been working in the life of one individual in our church as a result of our last mission trip.  He is convinced that taking his family on a mission trip is the best use of vacation he has ever experienced.  Wow!  God is at work!  (and you say – “Well – duh.”)

But after all of the reflection, the biggest thing I learned yesterday is that I have done a terrible job of conditioning myself to look for God in my daily life.  It was difficult for me to find God working – and not because he is not working all around me but difficult because I am not accustomed to looking.  I am even more resolved to look for God today!

How is God working in and around your life today?

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It’s Monday!  I woke up late and realized all the things I had to do today and immediately began the panic.  But the coolest thing happened before I even got my feet to the floor.  It was as if God spoke to me – no, God did speak to me – and said, “It is in your rush that you miss my best work.”  

Wow!  How true is that!  I get so busy doing “my thing” – rushing kids to school, getting to the office to do “ministry” that I rarely just slow down enough to be sensitive to God’s working all around me.  In that moment this morning, I became overwhelmed with peace and a renewed commitment to look for God today and seek to get involved where God is already at work.

May you slow down and look for God’s best work today – and everyday!

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