Susanna's Rescue: Stars and Lilies

The question for each of us to ask ourselves is this: Would I recognize God if He came in a way I was not prepared for—if He came in the bustle of a marriage feast, or as a carpenter?

Would I recognize God if He came in the drudgery of laundry or changing a diaper, or as a professional floor cleaner? 

The characteristics that are manifested when God is at work are self-effacement, self-suppression, abandonment to something or someone other than myself...

If anyone has figured out how to manifest those characteristics on social media such as Facebook and Instagram, please let me know.

When our Lord said to the disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19), His reference was not to the skilled angler, but to those who use the drag-net—something which requires practically no skill; the point being that you do not have to watch your “fish,” but you have to do the simple thing and God will do the rest. 

It's often the seamstress, the plumber, the local pharmacist, the restaurant server, the custodian, the hairdresser - those who quietly and faithfully follow God in the "simple" routines of life - who lead others to recognize Jesus.    

Who are the people who have really benefited from you? They are never the ones who think they do, but those who are like the stars or the lilies, no notion of the prig (superior-self righteous) about them.

Can we as a church stop using the buzzword "intentional"?   My mother was gifted in doing the routine household chores without complaint and without being "intentional"; she just did them - laundry, ironing, meals, cleaning, dusting, sewing, etc. She did the "simple" things and God blessed her and our family with the enjoyment of a clean house (which was a challenge with four kids), clean clothes, clean sheets on the bed, family times around the dinner table, school lunches, and pretty hand sewn Easter dresses for me and my sisters. My mother "unintentionally" became one of God's "stars and lilies".

There is suffering before which you cannot say a word... all you can do is to remain dumb and leave room for God to come in as He likes. The point for us is, “Do I believe in God apart from my reasoning about Him?” 

I truly believe that the smartest response to today's world events is is to remain dumb and leave room for God to come in as He likes.  I don't know about you, but as a parent and living in our social media world, my biggest temptation is to "say or post a word" that leaves no room for God to come in as He likes. 

Theology is a great thing, so is a man’s creed; but God is greater than either, and the next greatest thing is my relationship to Him.

Excerpts From: Oswald Chambers. “Our Ultimate Refuge.”