Back in 1988, Nike came up with a great ad campaign with the catchy slogan, "just do it." I couldn't help but think of that slogan after my visitors had left. One of the women in particular impressed me. She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother. She ran her own business out of her home while taking care of not only one of her grandchildren, but also her mother who had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When God prompted her heart to come and minister to me, what did she do? You guessed it, she dropped everything and just did it! She had been obedient to God. The other woman, nearing her 70's, did the same thing. Before coming to see me yesterday, she'd gone to church, gone to a memorial service, and then, instead of going home to rest, she came to share Christ's love.
Have you ever heard the term "angels unawares?" It comes from a verse in the book of Hebrews from the Bible. This is what it says, "Don't neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2) My guests were so kind and loving. They were so giving and generous. They had put my needs above their own. I honestly feel like God sent me some angels in plain clothes yesterday! I'm always amazed at how God knows exactly what I need and when I need it! His timing is always perfect! Just knowing that He had planned eons ago for this very day to build my faith during a difficult time touched my heart with gladness!
What would have happened had these two ladies not been obedient to God? What if the one with the sick mother had decided it was too much for her to stop her routine during the middle of the day to go visit a total stranger? What if the elder of the two had wanted to go home after a busy Sunday afternoon and take a nap? They would have been robbed of a blessing! God intended to use their willing hearts to teach them the importance of obedience. He had prompted them to "just do it" and they had obeyed. Had they not listened to His call, I would have never made two new friends and I would never have received the blessing of their love.
God uses gentle, soft whisperings to our hearts to speak to us. He impresses upon us the need to do something when it works according to His plan, but what we do with it, that's up to us! Have you ever felt a gentle tugging at your heart prompting you to do or say something that you know could only be from God's throne room? If you have, were you obedient? It is in giving that we receive the greatest of blessings! The Bible says it best in this verse: "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35
I am so thankful for my angels in plain clothes! No they didn't shimmer with gold nor have beautiful gossamer wings that I could see with my earthly eyes, but they were clothed in righteousness and for that, God receives the glory!
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