MAKE A DIFF

Sitting on my couch, actually half sitting and half lying down, the rain begins to fall. That’s when I remember the story of a man who said there should be no rain, and there was none (for three good years). Amazing!

His story had no preamble. I mean, when I was reading about him the book just said he was from so and so place, and he said there should be no rain…but I’m more interested in the fact that the guy spoke and his word held ground. He wasn’t the Messiah or anything, in fact when I read further the book said he was a man of ‘like passions’ – simply put, he was a regular guy; just like you and me. But he made a difference in his lifetime.

Another story comes to mind of a couple of guys from this same book. These guys literally had nothing going for them; nobody in their right senses wanted to associate with them because they were ridden with a dreaded disease.

One day, out of hunger these guys determined to break out from their limitation notwithstanding the huge risk involved. So they made a plan to go into enemy territory to get food, and that was how they saved not only themselves, but a whole nation from seven years of ‘hunger strike’. They decided, they acted, and they impacted. That’s why I could read about them anyway.

Ok, maybe all these seem like big stuff. Read this last one about a woman; the book says she was full of good works, always helping other people, giving alms... now, the book didn’t say she had all the resources in the world o, just that she was a believer.

Then one day she died. Even after they had dressed her for burial they couldn’t let her go. Her death was so painful they couldn’t accept it, fortunately for them they heard that a man who could do miraculous things was in the area. They called on him to bring her back to life, and that he did.

Do you think they would have thought twice about burying the woman if she hadn’t made any difference in their lives? Do you think these guys possessed some special power(s) to be able to do the things they did? Do you have to be super-duper to make a difference in someone’s life? Do you have to be well known to impact your world? (Remember the diseased guys. Ok, I admit they were known for their disease). How do you think the stories would have ended if these folks hadn’t made any difference in their lifetime? Would we have even heard about them?

It is probably that thing you have that you think is not good enough that God wants to use to bless others. Let yourself go for God. Elijah, the four lepers, and Tabitha did. So what’s stopping you?

As for me, I don’t want to stand before God and give Him excuses on why I didn’t impact as many lives as I had opportunity to in my lifetime.

Selah!

BL, August 2012