Mysterious Ways Pt. 1
(How does God use you?)
I've heard it a thousand times…"The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways". I recently found out that this quote originated from a Hymn written between 1771 and 1772 and published years later. William Cowper's "Olney Hymns" actually said "God moves in a mysterious way." Cowper became friends with John Newton, the writer of "Amazing Grace", and it was Newton who asked Cowper to contribute to a hymn book he was writing.
GOD moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Olney Hymns (1779)--'Light Shining out of Darkness'
Until today, I didn't realize that that quote wasn't in the bible. I believe that God's mysterious ways did not stop during the time Jesus walked the earth. I believe some of these mysterious ways manifest themselves in God's use of individuals and our unique abilities to help each other.
I truly believe what the Peter says about service and helping people "1 Peter (Message Version) 7-"11Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!"
In this passage, Peter tells us what to do, and WHY. We don't always get the easy WHY answers in the Bible…but this is pretty clear. Do these things and people will see "God's bright presence". I can wrap my head around that.
I have quickly become our church 'fence' and have found myself with various items to give to others…Hitachi-high-end DVD player, about a two dozen good quality, almost new jeans and sweaters that didn't fit the previous owners (about a week before Christmas), a cell phone, some office equipment and office furniture seemed to find me, just in time, when someone needed it. I like how God uses me for things like that. I can't count how many phone calls I get "hey, Jason…do you have [so and so's] phone number?" There was one individual that I gave the same number to 3 times in a 2 week time-span (I realized that I had become a '411 enabler' and actually wrote up a phone list for him, but that's another blog). Sometimes it's someone that needs a friend or an ear. I just got a text message that said "where do I go on Friday night for live Jazz?" I don't listen to jazz much, and haven't seen any live that I remember recently…but I knew that F. Scotts Restaurant and Jazz Bar was the place. http://www.fscotts.com/ Maybe
someone needs a good insurance guy, mortgage person, chord transcriber, web designer, and advice giver.
I have been blessed with a network of people that are willing to help others as well.
How is God using you? How are you serving others? Are you doing what you feel lead to do? I would encourage you to listen for that voice today!
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Mysterious Ways Part 2
(Refrigerator Ministries, " I'll take the black one please".)
Soooo, you got it all figured out. You know how God wants to use you, so you go head first into serving somewhere…and it doesn't work out. Then what?? I ran a Wednesday morning bible study about a year and a half ago. It was at 6:30 am, and we had a great time for about 8 weeks and it fizzled out. I was was fizzled out too. I tried the praise band at a church a year ago near Nashville, TN. In Michigan, an average folk guitarist (and I'm using average generously) can play in a church band and they are happy you can keep up. That doesn't fly in Nashville! When the band broke up and subsequent relationships were hurt, I was hurt. I quickly realized my 'talents' would be better utilized somewhere else.
I had acquired a pearl colored refrigerator last fall. One of my co-workers was replacing his older fridge with a new fridge and asked me if "anyone at your church needed a refrigerator". I told him I was sure that "someone would need it." So I borrowed my brother's truck, drove it to work on a Friday in October and with the help of my coworker, loaded the fridge into the bed of the pickup where it made it to my garage, and sat quietly for months, until about 4 weeks ago. During a discussion at our LifeGroup, it came to my attention that the ONLY thing that one of the several soon-to-be-married-couples needed was a refrigerator. One of the other LifeGroup members had a spare washer and dryer, so a refrigerator would round out the inexpensive (free in this case) 'appliance hunting trifecta' that one often goes on when moving into a new place.
I realized at that MOMENT, that it was ordained. Meant to be. [Cue the Hallelujah Chorus] Refrigerator Ministry! I needed to give the refrigerator to Ricky and Lindsay.
It was in good working condition. That's what I was told. The co-worker told me it didn't match his new appliances, so he was getting a new one. I could have used it for sodas and such this summer so we would have the "Garage Fridge" like my folks, brother, uncle, grandparents, and cousins always had. It would be nice to not have to buy ice to put into a cooler for drinks I guess. Maybe the freezer could hold freezer pops for the kids this summer…But NO! It was meant to be used for someone that needed that exact appliance at the right time.
The refrigerator had 2 glaring issues. First, it was pearl-colored (pearl sounds a bit pretty, it was really more of a cigarette-smoked-stained yellowish) and it didn't match THEIR kitchen. Second, it was NEVER cleaned. EVER. It had the food removed sometime last fall, but there was PLENTY of mold and stains. I figured, a dirty refrigerator wasn't much of a wedding present at all, but more of a health hazard, so I decided to clean it. Shelli had a great idea to rectify the first issue as well-- "let's paint it for them!!!!"
Ricky works at a paint store in town. His boss used to be a part of the LifeGroup so we got the HOOKUP on paint supplies and information. It would require:
1) Sanding (250 grit)
2) Priming (oil based white with some black, sooo the first coat ended up grey)
3) Painting (oil based again, and a smooth glossy black that was shiny and reflective all at the same time.
So, after sanding, cleaning, priming and painting, plus spraying the handles a metallic silver, It looked pretty dang good for a hack painter. Ricky and Lindsay finally closed on their house. They rounded up some muscle to help them move and I was able to get some transportation help for the fridge. We loaded it up and installed it at their new place. There was a crack in the copper pipe for the ice-maker, but Lindsay was so kind, and commented about how it looked nice in their kitchen. She loaded their food in it the next day… AND THE FREEZER DIDN'T WORK!! It was still a little cold on the bottom, but wouldn't stay really cold and within the next 24 hours, all the freezer food melted, dripped down through the freezer floor, and all over the fridge food. It had turned back into a health hazard in a matter of hours.
The whole situation has developed a life of it's own. I got a call from a buddy of mine yesterday "hey Jason, my brother is moving, you don't know where ha can get a F R I D G E do you HA HA HA HA". Lindsay called today and said that the guys who were taking the refrigerator away were laughing…out loud!
In the end, Lindsay got the new fridge she really wanted and they were able to make it work financially. I am still trying to figure out exactly what I learned from this. Maybe it's that God decides when and where He will use you and that's all there is too it. Maybe it's a test to see if I would get discouraged by spending 9 hours on a project that didn't turn out like I wanted...I didn't, I still have a great attitude about it. Maybe the lesson here is that it only took me three 'time consuming failed projects' to NOT get anxious, frustrated or upset about a 'time consuming failed project.' After all, God is God, and we don't always know His reasoning...God moves in a Mysterious Way.