Word For Your Weekend - Seeing Jesus In The Details - Part 1
This Friday we are excited to begin a new feature here on the blog - Word For Your Weekend! Our Women's Ministry Assistant and Murfreesboro Connect Group leader, Kandra Benton, is the author of our current series - Seeing Jesus in the Details. Each Friday we will publish a new session that we pray will encourage you and give you some questions to ponder as you begin the weekend.
Jesus is in the details. It always seems to amaze me how He places Himself right in the epi-center of our lives. Yet, we often fail to see Him or don’t acknowledge those seemingly insignificant “coincidences” as Jesus. If we can lean in to see His presence in our lives in those very small aspects, I believe we can begin to see our lives are filled, and even overflowing, with Jesus. The ability to hear Him whisper and often, in my own life, shouting over the noise of life…that is what I call a Holy Spirit encounter. Those moments in our lives that can only be explained by Jesus, not coincidence, are moments when the Holy Spirit can be felt and experienced.
Recently, I was talking with a friend and she shared a story with me that just resonated in my heart as one of those moments. Many times as special needs parents we get approached by a parent whose child has been newly diagnosed and is seeking wisdom, encouragement and a friend to walk alongside of them. My friend was text messaging with a mom whose son was newly diagnosed and she had written a long message sharing her support and understanding of the grieving process even 11 years later with her own daughter. Moments prior to sending this long message she completely deleted what she had written after having the sudden feeling that she shouldn’t send those words. What she did send was a picture of her child on an adaptive bike and that was precisely what the new mom needed to see and hear. She didn’t need to know that my friend, even though she is truly joy-filled, still grieves even 11 years after a diagnosis. She needed to see that her child could still ride a bike and do all the things other children his age could do, even if it would just look a bit different than what she pictured. My friend knew that this was not coincidence that she had that sudden change of heart in what to send. It was the Holy Spirit. He directed her to say the words that the mom needed to hear!
Don’t you just love hearing that our Savior is in the details? That He cares about those things that we often fail to recognize? Jeremiah 29:13 says; You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. The Bible is stating that if you seek the Lord you will find Him. For myself personally, I believe it is a heart matter. Is your heart open to Him? Are you able to see Him in the details when He reveals Himself to you?
Think about...
- In reading my friend's testimony again, can you think of ways in which the Lord has stepped into your own life and you suddenly did things differently?
- Can you think for a moment about how this situation could have been radically different if my friend sent her original message to this mom?
- If we are called to seek Him how does that affect the way that you think about your daily activities?
- How are you seeking Him daily? Are you in the Word? Are you spending time in a conversation of prayer? Seek Him and you will find Him.
Prayer...
Father, You are present at all times and in all situations. Allow me to speak to You throughout my day and maintain a conversation with You continually. May I be able to choose to allow my heart to see You in the everyday events and give You glory for each of those beautiful moments.