By Proxy.

By Proxy.

Somebody authorized to act for another person

By far the most amazing act of “proxy” is when Jesus died on the cross for OUR sins.   We didn’t deserve it, nor can we do anything to earn it.  God gave his only son for us, so that we might live eternally with Him.

God can use us too, if we are listening and willing.   Since God doesn’t make it a habit of coming down to earth in the flesh these days, He relies on us to assist Him in extending His love and compassion to others.

Other times, you are the recipient of God’s compassion.   God’s love for us is without boundaries.   Many times, He will bless us through the loving hand of a close friend, or a stranger.  It can be a calculated venture or a chance encounter.

Have you ever had one of those situations where you know God showed up, in the most unexpected way?  Or did you ever look back on something, years later and realize, “Oh, God did that!”  It’s a good feeling. 

Our meditations this week will help us realize God is working out there, some times more than we realize.  By Proxy, God uses us, if we are listening.  In the same way, when we need Him the most, he uses others to extend His love to us.

And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21

By Chance?

Monday

By chance?  I think not.

  Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
  Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. 

Proverbs 2: 2-3

Several months ago, I reconnected with a dear gymnastics friend of mine.  She now lives in Atlanta and is a therapist, specializing in women’s issues.   It has been amazing to talk to her again.  Little did I know, it was just the first phase in a God directed path for my life.  She’s my Blue Springs friend.

Several weeks ago, I stopped at a garage sale and picked up one item, a memoir about a woman in Missouri that endured sexual abuse as a child, “Little Girl Fly Away”.  She used poetry and therapy as a means to express herself and ultimately deal with issues she had as a result of the abuse.  Prior to this book, I had never been exposed to anything of that nature, and by reading it, I developed sensitivity to this issue.

Shortly after reading that book, a previous gymnastics student of mine found me after searching for years.  She showered me with love and praise for the influence I had in her life.  I was humbled at how God had used me way back then.  After the initial catching up, she began to share a part of her life I knew nothing about.  She endured sexual abuse at the hands of a family member, during the time I coached her.  The sensitivity level I had for this was very high, due to reading the book just a mere week prior to her contacting me.  My heart went out to her, because I realized she had not yet dealt with the issues surrounding these painful events in her life.  She is my Oklahoma friend, who also used poetry as a means to deal with the pain.

In a way that only God can, he brought these two women into my life around the same time; their only connection was me and gymnastics.  Guess what, they both now live in Atlanta, Georgia!   Guess what, my Blue Springs friend is now counseling with my Oklahoma friend to help her recover from her childhood abuse.  God orchestrated this little dance from the very beginning.  I am a little jealous, because I’m not the one actually there to help her.  I thought, my Blue Springs friend is acting on my behalf, “by Proxy”.  Then I thought again, “No, she is acting on God’s behalf!”   

   

God, please use me on Your behalf.  I want to be able to hear Your voice when you need me, help me to always be listening.

Great Loss

Tuesday

Great Loss

 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord

Romans 15:2

The tears fell down her cheeks far too many times for the same reason, the loss of a baby, a baby not yet born, a miscarriage.  Why?  Why does this always happen to me she begged God to reveal.   The hurt and pain were almost too much at times and she felt she could never get through another episode that was now all too familiar.  Three times in three years, she suffered miscarriages three different ways, one almost took her life.

The last and final episode that almost took Abby’s life, due to an ectopic pregnancy, was by far the most difficult.  She heard the heart beat and all of the nurses told her it was a normal pregnancy.  These issues combined with the fact that she used fertility drugs to help her get pregnant only fueled her depression.  Her sorrow lasted long after her four day hospital stay where she healed after the horrific experience. 

Later that year, her family suffered another loss, her husband’s brother died in a car accident.  It was shortly after that, after stopping the fertility treatments that she turned up pregnant and stayed that way.  “God knew when we needed some joy and something to look forward to,” she said while contemplating the turn of events.   

Abby recently returned a call to a friend who texted her. The confusion and pain in her friends’ voice propelled Abby to accompany her friend to the hospital.  While there, she held her friend’s hand while she experienced a miscarriage, just as Abby previously had.   Abby now realizes that while God doesn’t make bad things happen, he can use bad things for something good.  Abby believes her extreme experiences with miscarriage are so she can be an extension of God’s love and compassion for others going through the same thing.   Through your experiences, can God use you in this way?

Dear Lord, help me to use my hardships to help build other people up.  Show me how I can be an extension of You to assist another person going through a difficult time.

Save a Life?

Wednesday

Save a Life?

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.   Titus 3:4-5

Michael G. Miskell worked all night and then was asked to work at a store he didn’t normally work at.   He was not too happy about this, but little did he know, God had a job for him.  After completing his duties he desperately needed a break.  He decided to take a nap in his 1961 Falcon Ranchero towards the back of the rock quarry near the dump.  After waking, he saw a few guys trying to deliver a truck camper shell to the dump, but it fell off.  He asked if they needed help to get it back on the truck.  “You can have it if you want it they offered.”  He wanted the shell and thanked them for it.  At that point, he was on his own; he tried repeatedly to get it fit right on his Ranchero.  He decided to take a walk down an embankment to find something to help in moving the heavy shell.

It was then that he saw what would be etched in his mind for a lifetime: Two lifeless little girls lying in the grass and another one sitting up in the middle.  He looked and re-checked it to make sure what he was seeing was real.  He realized it was very real and went to get help.  The life of little Carmina Salcido was saved that day.  Her now infamous father had gone on a killing spree, killing her entire family and leaving her for dead as well.

By proxy, God used Michael that day.   Carmina is 23 now (Her book: Not Lost Forever).  You never know when or how God will use you or your circumstances.  Michael  realizes he had no idea God could use him at such an odd moment: While trying to load a camper shell,  working at a different store and tired from working all night, he believes it was God that directed him there.

Be open and be ready, if you are willing, His has a purpose for you.

Lord, please use me to help Your will be done, what ever the circumstance.

This devotional was published in our local paper the same day that my husband was in an article in the same paper where he was in the right place at the right time and saved several lives! 

The Still Small Voice

Thursday

The Still Small Voice

 
  “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

Matthew 25:44-45

When Brenda Black (co-author of “I Stand”) was packing for a ladies retreat, where she was speaking about Godly parenting, she had no idea God needed her to deliver a gift for someone.   She had a special bible geared towards unwed mothers that she kept packing and then unpacking, she just didn’t feel she would need it at this retreat.  In spite of her certainty that she wouldn’t need it, she had that gnawing feeling there could be a God appointment lining its self up and she should pack the bible anyway.

At the end of the session, several times she was drawn to a young lady, who was in tears.  It didn’t take long for Brenda to figure out the special Bible was a gift from God, intended for this young lady.

Staying in touch with God is how we learn to hear His voice.  He can use us at a moment’s notice or he can use us to be a delivery person or even an agent of mercy.  We must be able to hear Him.  This is accomplished by talking to Him and reading His word on a regular basis.

Brenda regularly keeps her “God appointments” as she calls them. She never knows when or how they will flow into her schedule, but she stays in tune to make sure she can hear the nudge.  To the untrained eyes and ears, it could simply be a person sitting by their self.  To Brenda’s God trained eyes and ears, she listens to the voice inside and will introduce herself, feeling the leading of a God appointment.  More often than not, following that silent voice inside of her allows God to touch people through her.

God works through us in many different ways, small and large.  You are part of the body of Christ when you obey His voice and extend a caring hand, comforting shoulder, prayer, or ear for someone in need.

Lord, help me to always hear Your nudge, I want to follow your leading, please, help me to do so.

Two Boats and a Helicopter

Friday

Two Boats and a Helicopter

 

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

 II Timothy 3: 16-17

  

 This is a story that’s been around a long time, I’m not sure of the origin.

A guy was in his house when horrendous rains come up. The water starts rising, and before you know it, we’re talking major flood. Roads are covered. Nothing’s moving. Pretty soon, a boat comes along. Guy in the boat yells, ‘Come on - we’re here to save you. Get in the boat.’ Guy in the house says, ‘No…I’ve got faith that God will save me.’ The boat leaves. The water keeps rising. The guy is forced up the second floor of his house by the flood waters. Another boat comes along. The guy in the boat yells, ‘Come on! It’s getting worse. If you don’t get in the boat, you’re going to drown.’

From the second floor window the guy says, ‘No…I’ll be ok. I’ve got faith in God that he’ll save me.’  The boat leaves. Water’s rising. The guy’s on the roof. A helicopter hovers overhead and the pilot shouts out, ‘This is your last chance. Climb up the ladder. If you don’t come now you’re going to drown.’   The guy says from the roof, ‘No, thanks. God will save me.’ The pilot shrugs his shoulders and splits. The water rises. The guy drowns and ascends to the pearly gates. He asks St. Peter, ‘What happened? I’ve been devoted to God and had absolute faith that he would save me. Why did he let me down?’  And St. Peter tells him, ‘What the heck do you want? God sent ya two boats and a helicopter!?’

This is the deal folks; You may be “the guy” that needed God’s help.  Or, you may be the person that brought the boats or the helicopter.  Be open for how God is willing to help you, or be willing to be the helper.   Read the scriptures and spend time with Him to help prepare yourself to hear His voice in any situation.

Lord, please, help me to hear your voice in every situation when you need me to.  I want to do Your will.