God Moments

I am in Tampa for the first part of the week with the rest of the staff for a series of meetings that our denomination has every year. To be honest, I find myself quite bored with these kind of events and especially the laborious business meetings we are supposed to go to.

Last night, however, was a good servic. A man by the name of Robert Rhoden spoke. I've always appreciated his ministry. He's a seasoned preacher with a passion for the young generation.

For me the mark of a good speaker is his/her ability to create an environment that provides opportunity for thought processes even beyond what he/she is talking about. Anyhow, he told a story that made me think about how God will often show a person, later on in life, how their obedience played out...it's a reward that comes at a time when you least expect it.

I had a God moment like this play out in my life a few years ago when a young girl who was in my youth group years before called me out of the blue. It was the eve before she was leaving for India to devote her life to missions. She called to say thank you for all the time my wife and I spent with her over the years and how the love we showed her pointed her to the love that God had for her.

Now, you would have to know about this girls background and what she was like when Tracy and I first met her to really appreciate this story. She came from a very rough background. When we met her everything in her life was black, her clothes, her nail polish, her lipstick, and she never smiled. We had trouble at first breaking through the darkness that seemed to be enveloping her.

Anyhow, to make a long story short, We continued to simply love her, pray for her, and go out of are way to make sure she knew that there was a God who loved her dearly. For years, we never knew if our efforts made any difference, but now we know that it surely did.

Through it, I learned a couple of things. First, never underestimate the power of God's love to break through in the hardest of situations. Second, a kind word and a loving touch has the potential to effect a person for a lifetime. Third, the rewards for obedience will always outweigh the cost.

Never underestimate the power you have to touch a life, through the life that lives in you...Jesus Christ.