Day: May 1, 2008

An unguarded moment (pt 2)

/ Roye Glass / Leave a comment

Yesterday I wrote about “an unguarded moment” in my life.  That moment took place in the early Spring of 2000.  I catch myself sometimes thinking a lot about times that have gone by.  It’s interesting to me that my children do the same.  Just the other day one of them made the comment that she was glad she didn’t see Extreme Makeover Home Edition on Sunday because it would have made her cry.  She misses her friends and the times she had in Albuquerque.

2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds me today that we are to “walk by faith and not by sight.”

It’s real easy to get caught up in the emotions of the past.  Whether those emotions are good or bad they can hinder us from what God is doing now… especially if those emotions are the focus of our lives.  Any of us, if not careful, can take a moment from the past and allow it to control our present and our future.  It’s easy for my thoughts to go back and revel in the days I hold real dear to me on a spiritual level.  But if I am not careful I will miss what God is doing today.

I know God worked in me in the past.  My life is a testament to that.  He is working today… He’s doing a new work for a new time.  I’m trying to grasp and understand where He is at work now and how I need to be available.

My guarded moment eight years ago happened for a reason.  God needed to step in at that time to give me a reality check.  Oswald Chambers puts it this way today:

God will give us His touches of inspiration only when He sees that we are not in danger of being led away by them.  We must never consider our moments of inspiration as the standard way of life – our work is our standard.

That day I was in danger of taking myself out of a situation God wanted me in.  Had I taken myself out of there prematurely His complete work would not have been done.  You see, one of the electrical engineers came to me one day while working there and told me: “I hear you are a preacher.  Let me tell you we need your influence around here.  I’ve been praying for more godly people to come and work here.”

I had never met him before that day.  I also found out in that conversation he had been supporting one of the other ministries I was doing.

Never be surprised when God shows up in an unguarded moment.  Keep your eyes on Him.  God is there in the mundane just as He is in the great moments of inspiration.  There is not a decision to be made in our lives God can’t take and work for His glory… if we “walk by faith and not by sight.”

An unguarded moment

/ Roye Glass / 4 Comments

Randall O’Brien has a book entitled, “I Feel Better All Over Than I Do Anywhere Else”.  A friend of mine is full of all sorts of corny sayings.  One I remember him saying most is, “Wherever you are there you’ll be.”

I recall working for an electrical contractor in Albuquerque.  It was “just a job” to help pay the bills and support my work at Harvest Church now named Soul Rio. 

The company I was working for had a job site trailer at Intel.  One afternoon I was cleaning the office and had an experience that will last a lifetime.  I had worked my way to the Foreman’s office.  While in his office I was vacuuming and muttered the following words to God, “I am better than this!” Wrong words! In that instant the vacuum cleaner bag exploded and the Foreman’s office was filled with a cloud of dust.  There I stood wishing I had never muttered that to God and in walks the Foreman… There was so much dust in the air I think he thought the trailer was on fire.  He and the rest of the guys that walked in with him got a good laugh at my expense.  It would have made a great American Express commercial, “Want to get away?”

As I think of this I am reminded of my friends saying, “Wherever you are there you’ll be.”  I was there for a reason.  I didn’t understand why I was there most days.  But there were many days while working for that company God had someone in my path that needed to hear about Jesus.

Sometimes we experience things in life that make us wonder where is God in this… or wonder what did I do wrong to get me in this position… there are so many thoughts one can have.  Nothing we experience catches God off guard.  It’s up to us to stay on guard and in tune with God – our Father.

“Set you mind on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:2-4, NIV).