Attention

Day was coming to an end and I had one more stop at the grocery store. And as I was walking through the parking lot the thought of a friend popped to mind. It had to a God initiated thought because it was out of the blue and I hadn't talked to her in many months, and why here and now. I had heard she was having some health issues and had had to move temporarily to an assisted living spot, maybe this was the reason God wanted me to think of her. But usual when this happens, he also wants me to do something. So, while I was in the grocery store, I picked up some flowers, headed home to unload and put them in a vase and in five o'clock traffic headed to drop them off. It was a true blessing for me, and I loved seeing her even if it was just for a few minutes. Her room was bright and cheerful and I was not the only one who had been thinking of her, for she had family pictures all around and other fresh flowers scattered about. I told her how I came to be there and about the nudge that God had given to me when he put her on my heart, and that he had even gone before me and given me a front place parking place in an area that had very limited parking. She clasped my hand, and said yeah God does that to you! But the truth is he does that to everybody, it is just a matter of paying attention tot he nudges. I love it when God allows me to be in His business, and I am tickled that he chooses me when he does to be a part of it.

I tell you this story so that you too will seek to be intuitive and attentive when God nudges you. When the name of a friend or the thought of some random person comes to mind. Take notice, and ask yourself what it is that God wants you to do. Maybe it is just a prayer, maybe a phone call, maybe flowers. But I have learned over the years that it is usually not an accident that that thought has flashed upon your mind. God has an intended purpose that you will be blessed for if your are obedient enough to carry it out. And also, when God orchestrates the job. he will go before you and make way for it to be done.

I know it sounds funky for something like this to really be true, but if you really pay attention, and act upon a nudge that you faintly believe might be a direction that you should go, you will most likely find God's blessings on the other end. And you will learn, as I have, to be more aware of God's calling. Sometimes the nudges will be a little off the wall and surely not in our perfect timing, but I sometimes think God just wants to make sure I am willing even in the small insignificant things to be a follower and doer of his word. Sometimes I even am!

Yesterday was a small example, but I am convinced that God is constantly prodding you and I to pay attention to his nudges, and listen to the whispers of his ways and act on them. First for his glory and then for the blessing of both parties. Just think a minute if someone did something on your behalf and told you the story of walking thorough a parking lot and without cue of another thought, your name popped into your mind, and you knew it was God's doing, wouldn't that make you feel great that God cared enough about you to put you on someone else's heart? God is tangible to us through what we see him do and what he does through others, by what they say and what they do and how he transforms lives and how he can turn even the greatest of adversities for his ultimate glory.

Our deeds of thoughtfulness, generated by God's love, do not have to be on a grand scale, as a matter of fact it is so many times it is the little things that make up the grand things. Today, be attentive to God's nudge...and act upon it even it is makes very little sense to you, God will use it for his purposes that we nay never know. It is east to get stuck in routine chores and stay focused on our to-do list, but I am pretty sure if you open your heart and mind to the nudges that God brings forth, you will see that you too are a vessel that he wants to use for his glory. You will be blessed in ways that soothe your heart and give you a peaceful countenance. And that blessing will be carried on to others who you touch along your way.

Galatians 5:13
[ Life by the Spirit ] You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Dear Lord, Help us to be aware of the little things that you nudge us to do for others, and do them not for ourselves but in obedience to your call, and in honor of your glory. Amen

Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in, for His glory will shine through!