The Care and Feeding of God Moments

1 Peter 2:21, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”

GOD MOMENTS

When I get back in-country, one of the questions I have is how do I keep this feeling, actually much more than a feeling, alive? What is the care and feeding of a God moment?

These moments are the manna that is poured down from heaven to feed and nourish our souls. They are the actual display of God’s glory that will sustain us through bad times and provide the catalyst of hope for the future that we can then pass on to others.

The second most important responsibility we have when answering God’s call, short of obedience, is to become a living testimony to those who do not know God and have never seen tangible examples of His love.

When I first come back from a trip, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the experience God has allowed me to have through Him. Each trip is like the first time a small child visits a botanical zoo or an aquarium; they can’t verbalize all they have seen and experienced. My brain is on sensory overload. I have met so many Godly people that have little reason to be thankful but are still light to those around them. I have seen God instill wisdom that exceeds education level; it even exceeds what would be expected based on life experience. I have heard life stories that bring me to my knees.

2 Corinthians 1:12, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you.”

I always leave knowing the reason I am there I not only how God used me to help them, but how He uses them to soften a hard spot in me. For every moment of truth, God reveals to them; he also reveals one for me.

CARE AND FEEDING

Tell a Story: Your story is the key that can unlock someone else’s prison.

Psalm 66:16, “Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me”

People remember stories. It is one of the most critical ways ancient man passed on knowledge. “Folk lore” is not real-life events, but stories used to demonstrate essential lessons; the illiterate could remember the account and pass it on. Fables are written to teach life lessons in a form that the listeners could pass on from generation to generation. The passing on is the crucial part.

God’s moments don’t always happen in significant ways. Living your testimony isn’t always a mission trip or a big inner-city event. Instead, some of my most favorite God moments are from everyday experiences. These are the moments when God sends someone into your life to make a point. They are strangers when you meet them, and many of them will remain strangers, when they leave, but they will have left an indelible imprint on your life.

Organize your Thoughts

“The unbelieving world should see our testimony lived out daily because it just may point them to the Savior.” Billy Graham

I am a visual learner by nature; it is the way God wired me. When I read words, they create a picture in my brain that is easier to remember. When I travel, I take lots of pictures, some of them relatively mundane. I have to go back and label them as soon as possible before I lose the moment. If I wait too long, the moments are gone. We each have our gifting; we are each wired differently.

So it is with all of our experience God gives us, big and small, we have to label them, sort them, and organize them so that when we need them, they can easily be found. We need to do this as soon as possible after God’s intervention. We need to treat them as heirlooms to be passed on from generation to generation.

Rehearse your Story

Psalm 22:22, “I will praise you to all my brothers; I will stand up before the congregation and testify of the wonderful things you have done.”

These moments become the stories of our lives. They need to be told with truth, for the lessons God gives us have a specific purpose. We need to take the time to meditate on them, with prayer and scripture, to ensure that we don’t stumble through the telling when they are required.

Don’t waste a single moment God has given you. There is no guarantee of more tomorrows; there is only this moment. So, make it count for something.

SHORT STORIES

Daniel 4:2, “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me.”

Here are some short examples from the last few weeks. The context of these stories is that they are from a people who live in a predominately Muslim country that has been a strife with violent government uprisings and devastating economic circumstances:

– I met a man who had been released from a Russian prison at age 40. I bonded with this man immediately. He became a Christian after he got out because he experienced the love and kindness of other Christians and wanted to know why.  He liked what they had.

– I met a great young man who organized youth sporting events in a vacant lot where he lived. Every Saturday between 3 pm and 7 pm, he would gather the neighborhood kids to play games. He used this as a way of getting to know the needs of his neighbors. When he would hear of a need, he would collect the required objects during the week and give them to the child to take home. As he did this, he shared the gospel and handed out Bible verses.

– I went hiking with two extraordinary young men. Extraordinary doesn’t do them justice. One of these men took 18-year-old men that had aged out of the orphanage system to teach them life skills. Most of these men had challenging backgrounds. The second man adopted orphans with severe emotional problems based on previous trauma. On the hike, he brought along one of his daughters, as it was her thirteenth birthday. He told about her having seen her mother stab her father with a kitchen knife at six.  As they hiked, they talked. I was awe-struck by how commonplace they spoke of their dedication to Christ. They thanked me for coming to help them, but I couldn’t imagine someone having a more significant impact on God’s kingdom than these two.

One of my takeaways from these trips is that most Christians treat helping as organized sports with team uniforms and sponsored events. These people know it is a schoolyard game played at the moment.