Encouragement for Today The Day Gods Extraordinary Interrupted My Ordinary WENDY BLIGHT The Angel of the LORD appeared to him ..., Judges 6:12a (NLT) Another day of errands. Same cycle every week. Grocery store. Gas station. Dry cleaners. Target. I dread errand days. I whine about the fun and exciting things I cant do because of the mundane tasks I have to do. But one particular week, God interrupted my ordinary with the extraordinary. You know, one of those moments when it seems God speaks directly to you ... as if He has heard the banter in your head and addresses it head on? I was studying about Gideon, a warrior from the Old Testament who also became a Judge over Israel. We initially meet him in the midst of his mundane in Judges chapter 6, when The Angel of the LORD appeared to him ..., (Judges 6:12a). No thunder. No lightning. No pomp. No circumstance. Very quietly, the Angel of the Lord came to speak to Gideon in the midst of his ordinary tasks on an ordinary day. Gideons story remained heavy on my heart. Do I look for God in the midst of my ordinary? No, I dont. I just want the mundane over so I can get on with my day. Yet, I want to experience the extraordinary! But I look for it in the grandiose, the uncommon, the bigger-than-life. So, I prayed for a Gideon moment: God will You show up in my mundane? I want to see You. I want to experience You in my ordinary tasks on an ordinary day. God answered that very day, but not in the form of an angel. In the form of a 7-year-old boy. While checking out at Target, I noticed a young boy standing behind me, proudly toting a HUGE Nerf toy (almost as big as he was) and tightly gripping a handful of gift cards. I learned his name was Luke. I asked Luke if the toy was for him. Shyly, he shook his head yes. It was for his birthday. His mom said he received some gift cards and was spending them all on this one item! God met me right there in the checkout lane, in that shy smile, and moved my heart to give and my mouth to speak. I asked Lukes mom if I could buy his gun as a birthday present. In that moment, I knew the Holy Spirit was speaking. It didnt make logical sense to offer this to a child I didnt know. I just knew God was calling me to do it — and I obeyed. A huge grin spread across Lukes face. Really? he asked. I nodded my head yes and suggested that he could then spend his gift cards on something else. Tears leaked from his mamas eyes as I shared my prayer that morning. I stopped by customer service, and as I turned toward the door to leave, Lukes dad, with Luke by his side, stopped to say thank you. But it wasnt the thank you for the gift that touched my heart. It was the words that followed, thanking me for the lesson Luke learned. Luke decided that instead of spending all his gift cards on another new toy, he would only spend four so that he could give one away. Im so grateful God spoke to me in His Word that day. Im grateful that word led me to pray a Gideon prayer ... for God to meet me in the ordinary to experience the extraordinary. Im grateful God answered that prayer. And Im so grateful that in meeting me, God also met Luke. And somewhere in this city, another little boy on another ordinary day will meet an extraordinary God through a tender-hearted little boy named Luke. Will you join me in praying a Gideon prayer ... for God to interrupt your ordinary tasks on an ordinary day to intervene in an extraordinary way? Lets invite Him to open our spiritual eyes so that we can see Him more clearly than ever before. Heavenly Father, I invite You to show up in my mundane. I want to see You. I want to experience You in my ordinary tasks on an ordinary day. In Jesus Name, Amen. TRUTH FOR TODAY: 1 Samuel 3:10b, And Samuel replied, Speak, Your servant is listening. (NLT) REFLECT AND RESPOND: Pray your Gideon prayer, asking the Lord to make Himself visible to you (as He did to Gideon) in the midst of your mundane. Pray that He will open your spiritual eyes to see Him in a fresh way. Record how God worked through your prayer in your Bible or a journal. crosswalk/devotionals/encouragement/the-day-god-s-extraordinary-interrupted-my-ordinary-encouragement-for-today-december-8-2014.html RPB:
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:00:00 +0000
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