God, my TV man

Last Tuesday, I had a problem.  My TV wouldn’t work.  I pressed the little silver Apple remote a bunch of times, but no Netflix.  Usual tendency would be to get frustrated, but the Lord kept me from it, as I remembered an experience He gave years ago.  One day I watched Little House on the Prairie and suddenly the TV blacked out.  It’s not a unique story really, except for the fact that I knew ahead of time I shouldn’t be watching TV.  Even if it’s a good show, the Lord had already let me know it’s not what He had in mind.  So fast-forward to last week when Netflix wouldn’t work, and the idea quickly comes that the Lord is serving as my TV man once again.  I knew Law & Order wasn’t what He had in mind for me, but I had taken the lazy road and thought, “I’ll watch this for 15 minutes while I comb out my hair and get ready.”  Nope.  It didn’t work then, and it’s not working now.  I needed to press forward with my curriculum writing.  I may have thought a 15-minute sabbatical would rest my brain, but not true.  So I pressed on, and the Lord provided energy and gave rest all at once, just as I needed.  After my curriculum meeting that afternoon, I returned home, and my husband turned on Netflix just fine.  Romans 8:26-27 says, “. . . the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”  I realize these verses talk about prayer, but I figure somewhere in all the ways the Lord intercedes, He certainly has the capacity to serve as my TV man when I lack the discipline myself.  When I falter, He takes the reigns.  And I love Him for that.

Answers in Genesis

How far ahead does the Lord plan?  How early does He set circumstances and move people in order to answer your prayer?  This past semester, my desire to study Creation deepened.  Something stirred in my heart beyond studying the Bible on my own.  For years I’ve wanted to study with my husband because of the way he understands science.  I researched festivals and conferences, but the logistics of traveling cross-country hadn’t fit.  Then came this compulsion to attend a new church.  “Lord, what is this?”  By our third Sunday, I see in the bulletin that they’re hosting Answers in Genesis on Fridays.  My heart leaps in an instant, and I sit there absolutely flabbergasted!  The thought truly amazed me that the Lord would love little ol’ messed-up me enough to plan a Creation study at a new little church that sits at an unassuming little intersection in San Antonio.  And He brought a small group of people to study alongside me too, for He’s working on behalf of many all at once.  One girl tells me, “Our church planned this a year ago, so the Lord must have been waiting for you to arrive.”  That means that for this single occasion of studying Creation, the Lord began orchestrating more than a year ago, which reiterates how personal our God is.  How intimately He works in us and amongst us.  In Malachi 3:10, the Lord says, “ . . . see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”  May we anticipate His next answer to prayer with great joy.  May we savor the beauty of His handiwork.

God & the AC guy

Where do you mention God, and where do you not?  How openly do we include His name in conversation?  Various versions of those questions flashed through my head when talking with our air conditioner repair guy this week.  Glad to say he fixed our AC problem with just a pound of freon, but as I signed his service papers at our kitchen table, he mentioned his daughter leaving for college.  His voice dipped in sadness.  I looked up to see his eyes do the same, and what quickly came to mind was how the Lord eased me through that same situation with my kids years ago.  Right that second when the name of God hit, there was a hiccup in my heart.  Describe it as a point of crucial decision or maybe a spiritual test. If the Lord is prompting my heart, will I follow through?  Doubt rushes in, asking "Will I offend? Will it seem like I’m pressuring him? What if he gets mad?"  Actually the questions are valid, but in the end, whom do I aim to please?  For whose sake am I willing to risk?  I shared with our AC guy how I prayed in those years before, during, and after college.  He listened and never even hinted of becoming angry.  I knew great pleasure for having offered those few sentences.  I’ve felt those little tugs too many times to ignore them.  I’ve known blessings many times over for having followed through, and I trust the Lord blessed the AC guy to hear testimony about prayer.  All days of the week, in homes and workplaces and neighborhoods and schools, the Lord creates situations for us to serve each other.  I contend that we mention His name whenever and wherever He prompts—in public, in private, in whatever circumstances He calls.  He wants our entire world to know He is here and that He loves them. 

Funeral & speech therapy

Opportunities to pray come anywhere.  In April I met a girl at a funeral.  She’d entered college to study speech therapy and needed only to find somewhere to serve her internship in order to graduate.  So I prayed.  I was extremely excited to pray.  I told her I would pray.  All the while, I hoped to see her again to explain this particular joy that came in praying for her.  Then a couple of weeks ago, the 2 of us sat across a dinner table from each other, and the joy spilled over.  She smiled to tell of sending out bunches of resumés and receiving a single, unusual phone call in response.  That phone call was her answer to graduating.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Never should we underestimate any opportunity to pray.  Never rule God out, for He works anywhere and everywhere.  And how we’re blessed for Him to incorporate sinners like us into His work.