The conference is of that caliber of stuff that needs to sit awhile longer, but God did so much big big stuff and I hope to share some of those stories soon. I've enlisted a couple of guest blogger recruits also to share deep stuff they've talked to me about or stories they shared. It should be a treat!
Ok, I do have some stories of God encounters from when I was out running errands yesterday. The goal of this blog is always to model how EASY it is to see God show up in daily life! So many people are focused on the "doings" of Christianity which involve so much work and labor. 'I can't talk about God unless I've memorized Scripture, because what if someone asks me a question I don't know?' Or, 'I'm afraid to pray for people because I don't know what to pray.'
The Christian life is so much easier when it becomes about who we ARE instead of what we DO. I'm sure you've all heard the cliché that we're human beings and not human doings. In theory we acknowledge that God would love us the same if we sat on our butts and did nothing for our entire lives as if we built and ran an entire city single handed, but still our actions confess that we really believe we can earn God's favor. I'm here to tell you that the favor of God can't be earned. It must come from a true friendship with God. And out of friendship you will see miracles and it becomes easy to talk to people and pray for people. All you have to do is talk about your friend and share what your friend thinks about that person!
Ok, here's what that look like yesterday...
I needed a haircut and booked an appointment two days ago. I was praying for God to anoint the hands of this new hair stylist as I just got the first appointment available. I am just back from this conference and so I'm all tanked up on God's Presence, so I was praying for people at the salon to encounter God. I ended up getting an appointment with the salon owner. We were talking about things and I told him I'm a lawyer. He told me that some awful woman came and filed a suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act against the salon because their bathroom was too small. This led to a discussion about how I believe God honors a life of integrity whether it pans out in the short term. I told him about the concept of shalom, which does not just encompass peace and wellbeing, but the prosperity over God over your whole life. That was about all though. I wondered where God would really like to move. I was going to get my eyebrows waxed if there was an opening, but nothing opened up so I had to make an appointment with the waxing lady for the next day. That was yesterday.
I went in and met my brow lady. She had streaked hair in various shades of blonde and copper and I told her she had a lion personality. She had a tattoo that said "Forgiveness" on her forearm. You would think this would be the thing to strike up some major God moment, but it didn't. She did a good job on my eyebrows but that was it. So I thought, "Hmm, I must be here for some purpose, but I am not seeing it." Well then I went to pay. I had previously noticed that the receptionist had a very amiable personality and a voice perfectly suited for greeting people. I told her this. I also told her that her pink sweater was a lovely color for her. (Never underestimate the power of a genuine compliment!) But then I am waiting for my card to go through and I just sense that God really wants to bless this woman. I try to not speak Christianese so I say, "I am just really feeling like God wants to do something nice for you. Would you like me to agree with you that He will do something nice? What would you like Him to do?" She says, "I would like for God to give me a job in Virginia Beach. I am moving down there and I need a new job." She says she has done all sorts of jobs and would do anything. I really felt like God wanted to give her a job she enjoys so I said, "I believe God wants to give you a new job doing something you have never done before where you can be creative and use your people skills. I'll agree with you for that."
With that I felt satisfied. You know, even if you don't pray for people, or see God do some miraculous healing on the street, we can't underestimate the power of blessing people. Proverbs 18:21 says that there is the power of life and death in our tongues. We don't understand how our words have the power to bless people or curse them. We all receive enough criticism and negativity, so why not use your words to speak purpose, life, and encouragement over people? It is not hard, you just have to be intentional and stay tuned in to God's heart for others. I guess that means by default that you are not constantly tuned in to yourself.
And to bring it back around, that is why we have to focus on being with God, for it is in the being that we discover how pleased He is with us. And then we feel how pleased He is with others. Sure they sin and need to repent, but it is His kindness that leads us to repentance. It is mostly the legalistic doers that make us look bad on the news. You can fill in the blank with whatever hateful bunch is current.
So if you are reading this, I challenge you to take an hour or a Saturday to just be. Enjoy something that makes your heart glad and sit with your friend Jesus. And then see if that doesn't change the way you view others when you go back to face the daily grind!
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