Praise God Today

I began shoveling this morning at 2AM. Although my home sits at the top of our street, there is that small incline that makes my little Kia whine until we reach the summit. What forecaster said was a 4-8" storm sure looked like 8 inches already in my driveway and its still coming down hard as I type this. I shovel until I get some of the street clear in front of my house so I can get traction for my running start on that little hill. We prevail and get to my regular stop at the convenience store to pick up my coffee and a gallon of washer fluid just in case I may need it later. Only then do I realize that my wallet is sitting on the china cabinet in our living room.

I won't be going down my street again for another challenge, so I park at the top of the intersection and walk about 100 yards to retrieve the wallet. Back to the car and back on the trail, I begin the normal 30 minute drive to my workplace in the city. Thanks to construction on highway 40/64 that is half way through its two year progress, that is now 45 minutes. This morning it will be much longer. But now, with God's protection and a portion of patience, I am safe at work.

I know its just some minor inconveniences. The little things that irritate us now and then. The problems that have aggravated me this morning are nothing compared to what He has done for me. The depths of life that He has pulled me from are far greater than the annoyance I suffered this morning. He deserves my praise. I can't thank Him enough for His mercy to me and for His ever suffering grace. I wish I didn't have this weakness, this human nature of forgetfulness; constantly concentrating on the me and not Him. Forgive me, Lord. Today is the day that you have made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I just simply praise you today.

When Being a Nobody is Just Fine

For the first 40 years, Moses was a “somebody.” A man of stature and esteemed in a kingdom; placed in high regard by his peers and adopted countrymen; a ruler among men. Conscience, in but a moment of what appeared to be weakness, caused him to make a decision in defense of a slave. It put a price on his life. It cost him his status. It cost him his position and forced him from a land that was really never his own. The next 40 years he became a “nobody”…a sheep herder, working his father-in-law’s land; a stranger in a strange land.

It was not until this time, having run from a place he thought was were he was supposed to be, that his call was re-commissioned. No doubt there were times when Moses thought that his value and worth were of no more use. As the memory of times past raced through his mind, I wonder…did the idea of regret or remorse cross his mind as he remembered that fateful day? Nevertheless, the decision was made and he could not go back to the status he once held…at least in man’s eye.

Perhaps broken and perhaps in a place in his life where nothing seems to be ideal, God begins a process. There are a people who need a leader. There is a promise that needs to be kept. When Moses finds himself in a place of wilderness, God is able to begin to use him as he probably never thought possible. The freedom of two million plus are in the balance. And because of a man who accepted a call (who didn’t think he had the talent or ability; whose credentials were less than he desired), bondage was lifted and a nation birthed.

I am sure there is some who will read this and think, “I am in that very place.” We are working in our little corners of the world. A preacher in a far away land, a home missions work that is just getting off the ground, or a Sunday school teacher that can not perceive the impact that he/she has on that small class of little boys and girls. God knows our place. He knows the status of our hearts and can see the works far beyond what we could ever vision. Do not fret. Do not think that the small steps that you are taking do not have a greater purpose. Do not think that someone else must be doing it better because they’re getting noticed or because there stock seems to be rising. It’s OK to be a “nobody.” Just take a quick look over men and women of the Bible and the reward they had when they found themselves in places that they didn’t imagine they could be. Samson, Joseph, Mary, Peter, Paul, etc…

Lord, make me a “nobody.” Remind me that whatever abilities and talents that you have given me are not my license to a social or religious hierarchy. How many times I enter a pulpit, stand in front of a group of men, or quote a verse does not pad my stats. We need a desire like Moses had…humility like he had. Will we be able to say, “If you will not forgive them, blot me out”? God didn’t need a name to use…just a “nobody.”