I was standing in line at a snack bar when I realized that I was thirty cents short for the treat I wanted. I knew that I did not have time to walk across the campus to get more money from my room before my next class started.
I silently complained to the Lord and turned to head back to the classroom. I was walking down a long corridor when a young woman seemingly came out of nowhere. She walked toward me never allowing her gaze from my face.
When we came face to face she held out her hand and said, “The Lord told me to give you this.” I took what she offered and she continued in the direction I came from without another word. I was so stunned I stood there for a moment looking after her.
Finally, I opened my hand and there lay thirty cents!
I was so moved by God’s overwhelming love for me. He cares! He heard my grumbling and gave me what I asked for. A trivial craving that I had forgotten about the second I had turned away, yet the Lord heard and provided. If the Lord cares about my snack, how much more will He care for my true needs?
I have often thought about this event and marveled at how God is attentive to the smallest detail of our lives. There is a huge lesson there that has kept me pondering for many years. What has struck me recently, however, is the young woman who was obedient.
What was she doing when she heard the Lord? Did she see my face? Did God tell her there would be a woman in the corridor? Did she hear thirty cents? I marvel at her faith.
Honestly, I don’t know if I would have had the faith or obedience to do what she did. I would have questioned the amount thinking that I had heard wrong. After all, how important could thirty cents really be? Yet, that simple act of obedience was more moving to me than if she would have handed me three hundred dollars.
Why is it we think that an act of obedience is less important if it is small? We have no idea what effect our obedience will have on someone’s life. More than that, we have no idea what kind of faith our obedience will build in others or ourselves. I wish that woman would have stopped to let me talk to her so that I could have told her the significance of such a small amount.
What is the Lord asking you to do that you think is trivial or insignificant? What’s your thirty cents?
I silently complained to the Lord and turned to head back to the classroom. I was walking down a long corridor when a young woman seemingly came out of nowhere. She walked toward me never allowing her gaze from my face.
When we came face to face she held out her hand and said, “The Lord told me to give you this.” I took what she offered and she continued in the direction I came from without another word. I was so stunned I stood there for a moment looking after her.
Finally, I opened my hand and there lay thirty cents!
I was so moved by God’s overwhelming love for me. He cares! He heard my grumbling and gave me what I asked for. A trivial craving that I had forgotten about the second I had turned away, yet the Lord heard and provided. If the Lord cares about my snack, how much more will He care for my true needs?
I have often thought about this event and marveled at how God is attentive to the smallest detail of our lives. There is a huge lesson there that has kept me pondering for many years. What has struck me recently, however, is the young woman who was obedient.
What was she doing when she heard the Lord? Did she see my face? Did God tell her there would be a woman in the corridor? Did she hear thirty cents? I marvel at her faith.
Honestly, I don’t know if I would have had the faith or obedience to do what she did. I would have questioned the amount thinking that I had heard wrong. After all, how important could thirty cents really be? Yet, that simple act of obedience was more moving to me than if she would have handed me three hundred dollars.
Why is it we think that an act of obedience is less important if it is small? We have no idea what effect our obedience will have on someone’s life. More than that, we have no idea what kind of faith our obedience will build in others or ourselves. I wish that woman would have stopped to let me talk to her so that I could have told her the significance of such a small amount.
What is the Lord asking you to do that you think is trivial or insignificant? What’s your thirty cents?
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