It's Not About You

"It's not about you it's about God." It seems as if I am hearing so much of that lately. Saturday evening I heard Charles Stanley preach those words. Sunday morning one of our praise team members said the same words to me in a private conversation. A little while into the service another man testified and shared the exact words again! "Okay!" I said to the Lord. "You must be trying to tell me something." I have learned to take notice when things like that happen.

In my Bible study More Than Just a Journey, that I wrote and often teach, I share in the second lesson that God speaks through others. On our journey we will come into contact with other people whom God will use to speak into our lives. Sometimes our "others" moments might involve ministering to them instead of receiving, either way there is a reason we come into contact with certain people throughout our day.

When Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt the Bible says that "they walked out boldly in full view of all of the Egyptians." (Num 33:2) I pondered the "full view of all the Egyptians" part and allowed God to speak to me through that passage. Why was it important for the Israelites to come into contact with all the Egyptians that day? Why not a hand full or a few? Or maybe the Israelites could have left while no Egyptians were watching. We understand by reading the scripture why the Egyptians were out in full view of the Israelites but there was definitely more to it than that.

As we study the passage we come to understand that on the way out God used the people who tormented the Israelites, who persecuted them, who looked down upon them, to actually bless them before leaving. The Israelites were told to go and ask the Egyptians for their clothing and gold. There was a reason they were all out in full view. I can only imagine what God might have tried to say at that very moment - to both of them - the Israelites as well as the Egyptians. How could God have been teaching, not only the Israelites but the Egyptians as well, through that dramatic encounter? There are so many lessons that could have come from that moment but one of the most important lessons is that God used others to accomplish a task - of course that is one of our purposes for being created in the first place - and don't we forget about that one? We spend countless hours passing strangers on a daily basis most of whom we rarely take notice of.

Let's do an experiment: Spend time this week noticing the very ones who cross your path. Tune into what God might be trying to say to you through that contact with another person. Maybe the Lord will give you a nudge to say something to them. Instead of ignoring it - move forward. You may find that your journey that day had meaning and purpose and that it truly was something more than an every day routine. You may find that it was not about you - but all about God.

To learn more about Tina's Bible study click here.