Sometimes it’s easier to turn to God, and trust Him, when things are rough. When I am in a crisis situation, I know I need God. But in my mundane, humdrum, every day existence (as if my life could be humdrum and mundane with homeschooling three active children and training two active black labs!!!!), sometimes it is the endless repetition of normalcy which can blind my eyes to God’s presence in my life. But He’s there, and if I am willing to be a tool in His hands, He can do great things through me - even if I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.
When I was a child, Mom and Dad always invited people over to our home after church services. Sometimes we’d have just one other family; sometimes there’d be a whole bunch. One particular Sabbath, we’d invited a bachelor, Gary, to come over. He asked if he could bring a friend of his who was visiting from California. Mom told him it was no problem; several people were going to be there. Gary played the guitar and had a great voice, as did his friend. We had a special evening of singing and fellowshiping and enjoying being together.
About three weeks later, Mom got a letter from Gary’s friend. He wrote, he said, to tell her how much that sabbath meant to him. He had been going through a particularly difficult time and had decided to commit suicide when Gary had brought him over to our home. Because of that evening, he had changed his mind. This young man was Mark Graham - a church musician who put together a songbook filled with so many original hymns of praise to God.
Mom didn’t know that God was going to use her in such a powerful way when she told Gary that Mark was welcome to come to our home that evening. And she would never have known her impact if Mark hadn’t written that letter. Mom was used for the glory of God. And really, that’s what this life is all about. I quoted 1 Peter 1:7 earlier: “These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Our primary purpose is glorifying God - if we know God as our God.