I was having my off day on one of the Tuesdays. I was preparing a sermon in one of those café joints. A cup of ice-latte, a bible, and a laptop; I was happily immersing myself in the Word of God. Though there were many people around me, but my heart was only attending to the Presence of God. Though there were a sermon to prepare, but my soul was quiet, peaceful and rested. I literally enjoyed every moment of my time in such an experience.
Then a man came up to me. He was dirty, smelly and obviously, hungry. I saw him approaching other patrons in the café, but none gave him anything, needless to say attention. When he was at my table, I was in the middle of my most exciting moment of my sermon. He looked at me, so I looked at him. He tried to smile at me, and I also tried to smile back at him (I think I tried harder to smile at him). I wanted to get back to my work. I wanted to bet back into the Presence of God. I wanted him to leave me alone. But he asked if I could give him money to buy something to eat, for he had not been eating for a day and had no job as his hand was badly injured.
I was very tempted to give him $5 and got rid of him. But something within me burn. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get back into the Presence of God that day if I simply ignored him. I told him that I wouldn’t give him any money, but I could buy him something to eat. I closed my bible, turned off my laptop, packed up and brought him to a fast-food restaurant which was just next to the café I was in. I told him to order anything he wanted, and he did! That costs me more than $5. But I saw his face glowing and beaming with gratitude and joy. It was not that upsized-extra-value-meal that made this man happy (he didn’t order happy meal; that was cheaper). It was my attention to him, my willingness to be interrupted to bless him with this meal that made him happy.
Today as I meditate on Hebrews 11:21, the word ‘blessed’ and ‘worshiped’ grip my heart and remind me of that off day encounter. I am blessed because I obeyed the Lord prompting to bless that man. My heart was filled with joy that day and I couldn’t stop praising and worshipping God. And the Presence of God was even stronger after that.
I think blessing other people has such a power to draw us into a deep worship. But do you think blessing other people in such a manner is easy? At least not for me; I don’t going around buying upsized-extra-value-meal for people everyday. I don’t go around blessing other people. By nature, I am an inward person. I only care about my experience and my encounter with God. But God is concerned about other people too and wants to use His people to bless other people.
I have my reservation when comes to blessing others. I am bother about how other people see me, how other patrons in the café see me. I am self-conscious. It takes courage and faith to be a blessing to other. Jacob was old and weak; he couldn’t even stand by himself and needed a staff to support him (21), but he didn’t allow his weakness to hinder him to bless Joseph and his sons, even though he couldn’t see them (Gen 48:10). And of course, the result of that was worshiped in the Presence of God.
Is God prompting you to just go up to a stranger or a colleague whom you don’t really know and bless him with a cup of coffee or piece of nice chocolate? The next time when you encounter someone asking you for a meal, don’t just ignore or brush them aside (maybe you have bad experiences with conman), but ask God for that compassion to bless and take a step of faith to reach out to him with sincerity. You may receive the joy of a lifetime and an unforgettable experience of worship in the Presence of God.
Our faith is a faith that causes us to bless and worship.
HHS…
Abel…
Then a man came up to me. He was dirty, smelly and obviously, hungry. I saw him approaching other patrons in the café, but none gave him anything, needless to say attention. When he was at my table, I was in the middle of my most exciting moment of my sermon. He looked at me, so I looked at him. He tried to smile at me, and I also tried to smile back at him (I think I tried harder to smile at him). I wanted to get back to my work. I wanted to bet back into the Presence of God. I wanted him to leave me alone. But he asked if I could give him money to buy something to eat, for he had not been eating for a day and had no job as his hand was badly injured.
I was very tempted to give him $5 and got rid of him. But something within me burn. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get back into the Presence of God that day if I simply ignored him. I told him that I wouldn’t give him any money, but I could buy him something to eat. I closed my bible, turned off my laptop, packed up and brought him to a fast-food restaurant which was just next to the café I was in. I told him to order anything he wanted, and he did! That costs me more than $5. But I saw his face glowing and beaming with gratitude and joy. It was not that upsized-extra-value-meal that made this man happy (he didn’t order happy meal; that was cheaper). It was my attention to him, my willingness to be interrupted to bless him with this meal that made him happy.
Today as I meditate on Hebrews 11:21, the word ‘blessed’ and ‘worshiped’ grip my heart and remind me of that off day encounter. I am blessed because I obeyed the Lord prompting to bless that man. My heart was filled with joy that day and I couldn’t stop praising and worshipping God. And the Presence of God was even stronger after that.
I think blessing other people has such a power to draw us into a deep worship. But do you think blessing other people in such a manner is easy? At least not for me; I don’t going around buying upsized-extra-value-meal for people everyday. I don’t go around blessing other people. By nature, I am an inward person. I only care about my experience and my encounter with God. But God is concerned about other people too and wants to use His people to bless other people.
I have my reservation when comes to blessing others. I am bother about how other people see me, how other patrons in the café see me. I am self-conscious. It takes courage and faith to be a blessing to other. Jacob was old and weak; he couldn’t even stand by himself and needed a staff to support him (21), but he didn’t allow his weakness to hinder him to bless Joseph and his sons, even though he couldn’t see them (Gen 48:10). And of course, the result of that was worshiped in the Presence of God.
Is God prompting you to just go up to a stranger or a colleague whom you don’t really know and bless him with a cup of coffee or piece of nice chocolate? The next time when you encounter someone asking you for a meal, don’t just ignore or brush them aside (maybe you have bad experiences with conman), but ask God for that compassion to bless and take a step of faith to reach out to him with sincerity. You may receive the joy of a lifetime and an unforgettable experience of worship in the Presence of God.
Our faith is a faith that causes us to bless and worship.
HHS…
Abel…
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