I met a fellow believer the other day. He’d been down
a hard road, much different than mine. I listened as he excitedly reviewed what
God had done for him. The list grew, and I began to feel the need to tell him
something. But I hesitated. It’s not that I don’t trust God’s calling—I just don’t
always trust myself to pick the right words. You’d think words would come
easily for a writer, but they don’t.
So I just kept listening as the stories of tangible
blessings from the hand of God went on. The man’s gratitude showed. But the
more he talked of jobs and money and health issues, the more I wanted to tell him
what God did for me. Not that I could
compete. Divine release from substance abuse was outside my experience. No
miraculous healing. God answers my prayers, and sometimes His work is so
obvious I know the answer could only have come from Him. But this guy had me
beat.
The conversation turned to other matters. Life and
family history. Books. Writing. Well drilling. (My husband’s line of work.)
Whatever God had wanted me to tell the man slipped away into one of those missed
opportunities. I have too many of those.
But then it came back around. He had one more story to
share. Another miracle—a money matter. And when he was done, I spoke what was
on my heart.
“I’ll tell you the greatest thing God ever did for
me,” I said. “I was a hell-bound sinner, but now I’m going to Heaven. And Jesus made that happen.”
He seemed to hesitate, as if he’d remembered
something. “That’s it,” he said. And he nodded.
Our conversation wrapped up and I went on my way. Did
I say the right thing? Did it matter? Whatever God wanted to get through to the
man, I think He did, in spite of my fumbling tongue.
As I pondered what to write for this Thanksgiving
blog, I remembered the man’s gratitude. We should all be ready to share our
story of what God has done for us. But nothing compares to what He did long
before we started counting our blessings. And that is what I choose to keep at the top of my list.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue
to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you
were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7