I had been sitting at the table with her for the last three Tuesdays and had no knowledge of her life outside of the little she had shared about her husband and children. So when I heard “Tell her I love her,” I shoved that thought right down to the bottom of the long list in my brain.
“Tell her I love her”. There it was again.
“Ok, Lord”, I countered, “We are in a women’s Bible study. She is a Christian. She knows You love her.”
“Tell – Her – I- Love – Her”. And this time, the words were a little louder in my mind and the intensity of the directive was evident.
I continued the mental conversation I was having with the Lord about His obvious inability to notice what was happening at the moment, “You want me to say that now?! In the middle of this Bible study and disrupt all the other women’s time with You? Plus, I don’t even know her.”
“Yes, but I do. Tell her I love her.”
I looked at her again and reluctantly agreed. So, right in the middle of everything, I called her name and said, “The Lord wants you to know something. He wants you to know how much He loves you.”
She looked straight back at me and burst into tears.
What happened next stunned me. Words that I recognized as coming from the Song of Songs came pouring out of my mouth. He was telling her how beautiful and valuable she was to Him (from Chapters 1 and 4). He told her she was a lily among the thorns, (Ch. 2) And from chapter 8 He told her to set Him as a seal upon her head.
Then it shifted to what I recognized as being from Proverbs 31, the chapter talking about a virtuous and noble woman. He told her she was more precious than jewels and that the heart of her husband trusts her (vs 10). He proclaimed her value to her children and household ( vs 27-28) and that she was a woman who feared the Lord and therefore is to be praised.
OK, let me tell you something. I had absolutely no idea I even KNEW those verses! Sure, I had read them but didn’t know them well enough to recite, yet the words poured from my mouth simply and easily and as they came, she wept.
I don’t recall how long it took but when the words finished coming and all her tears had been shed, she explained how she had been in a very hard place mentally and was battling thoughts about her worth to God, her husband and her children. She had been convinced by the enemy that the weakened state she was in had reduced her value in God’s eyes.
As she finished speaking, her eyes softened and you could tell her spirit had become receptive to the Spirit of the Lord. At that point, the other women in the Bible study took over and spoke words of confirmation and love to her in a way that was truly spectacular to watch. I sat back in awe at the witness of what the body of Christ can do for a hurting sister.
God knew she was hurting.
I didn’t.
God wanted her to find comfort and reassurance on that day and had set it up for those women to be there for her and they were amazing.
My part was to set the whole thing in motion and what did I do? I argued with the Lord about His timing and made assumptions that she was fine when she really wasn’t.
Now, would God have given this woman comfort on that day had I not said something? I believe absolutely, yes. He is in the business of carrying out His purposes and plans for our best outcome and His greatest glory.
What I haven’t told you is I had been praying these words, “Lord, please use me. I want you to do what you will with me in order for your Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.”
I guess I didn’t think through that prayer all the way and I’m not exactly sure how I thought God was going to answer but I wasn’t fully prepared to be uncomfortable when He asked me to open my mouth. I was obviously uncomfortable with it or I wouldn’t have argued with Him.
And I can’t even tell you what it was inside of me that decided on compliance. I would like to say it was my full trust in what I was hearing. It wasn’t because I didn’t. I think it was more of a desire to actually see the Kingdom of God at work and maybe, just maybe, this God thing would show up.
Praise God, He showed up!
The profound truth is God chooses to work through people – those who are willing to act, speak and do for Him. On that day, He had all the women He needed in place to do something awesome for one of His children.
I am telling you this story because I believe God is asking people like you and me to pay attention to the Holy Spirit depositing thoughts into our spirit. Those words that seem random and odd to our conscious minds very well might be God inviting you to take a chance on Him, inviting you to put in motion a life changing event.
Or maybe if you too have prayed, “Lord, please use me,” He’s actually saying OK. Because when we align our prayers and desires with God’s purpose, we can benefit from Him having prepared all the pieces, parts and people to make it happen- for our best outcome and His greatest glory.
You rock, Jesus! Just sayin’.
