Christmas 1995 had come and gone. Tax season was in full swing in the little CPA firm in Birmingham, Alabama, where I worked.
New tax preparation software stole family time. I continued to lead a weekly Bible study at my church that I had led for three years. A handful of women faithfully attended the class, usually with small children underfoot. My own offspring played with their school assignments in the back of the classroom. But interest dwindled. Why should I continue to lead this study? I thought.
That Christmas I had wanted a silver cross on a long, silver chain. Everyone I saw wore one–friends at church, co-workers, strangers on the street. But every time I had the urge to buy one, I sensed God telling me to hold back.
One morning while at work, I received a phone call. A woman in the Bible study wanted to meet. We did, and in my office, she poured out her heart, her pain, her struggles, and her confessions. We cried, prayed, and laughed together.
As she stood to leave, she reached into her purse, drew out a small gray pouch, and said, “God told me this morning to give this to you. I’m not sure why. I bought it in Mexico last summer while traveling with my husband, put it in my dresser drawer when we got home, and forgot about it. This morning God put it on my mind to give it to you.”
She placed the small gift in my hands, and I heard my heavenly Father whisper, “I love you. I am all you need.” I pulled out the most beautiful silver cross I had ever seen … simple and perfect. Tears streamed down my face.
We often try to satisfy our desires on our own, only to miss the perfect gift God has for us—Himself. God puts the desires in our heart so He can fill them and amaze us with His personal, powerful love.
I thought obedience would bring blessings but missed the most precious jewel: a closer relationship with God. We are instruments of blessings, designed to bless in ways we’ll never understand.
Follow Jesus on this exciting “blessing” adventure.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Macy Johnson is a native Floridian living the lake-life in Georgia. She is an instrument of God’s blessings as a writer, church pianist, community accompanist, wife, mother, nana, Bridge player, adoptee, retired auditor, and member of Word Weavers International. Her “God Sightings” are published weekly in the Greensboro Herald-Journal. Find her at www.macymjohnson.com, macymjohnson@gmail.com, and on Facebook as Macy Martin Johnson.