As I was leaving work the other evening, I held the large
heavy glass door at the entrance of my building open for an older lady that was
leaving at the same time. The lady
literally stood there and did not move.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was more like 3-5 seconds, her
blank stare lifted as she smiled and said,”I forgot that people still did that.
I can’t remember the last time someone held the door open for me. Thanks!”
I was then perplexed.
How did this ordinary act of respect and kindness become so “unusual”? Have we become so disconnected and
self-absorbed that common courtesies are no longer common? Have we lowered the bar as a society so much that
we only act on those things that are of benefit to us?
Sadly, some of us approach our encounters with our Heavenly
Father the same way that this lady approached her encounter with me. She had very low expectations. We can get so caught up in our circumstances,
our weaknesses and our experiences with people hurting us that we project our
pain and flawed human responses to our pain on God. God cares for us. God is concerned about us. God wants to bless
us as we live according to His will.
Psalms 106:3-18 (MSG)
He forgives your sins—every one.
He
heals your diseases—every one.
He
redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He
crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He
wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He
renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
6-18 God
makes everything come out right;
he
puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened
up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not
easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
nor
hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
nor
pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so
strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he
has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps
in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
like
wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving
nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
eternally
present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as
they follow his Covenant ways
and
remember to do whatever he said.
Psalms 103 spells out the many ways that God loves us and has
demonstrated that love. He forgives us…He
saves us…He knows us…He redeems us….He renews us etc.
In a world that attempts to get us to minimize God, we must
maximize our expectation of the impact that interacting with Him will have on
our lives. He loves us more that we can
imagine or think, so He wants the very best for us.
God is standing there holding doors open for us. How long will we stand there mystified before
we step through and give Him thanks for caring enough about us to “hold the
door open”?
Raise your expectations by maximizing your awareness of God’s
Love in action in your life!!! It is much easier to walk through a door that
God has opened than to try to open a closed door or to create a door on your own.
Be Blessed!!!
B
