Think back to when you were in elementary school or maybe even up to high school. You are in PE class or at recess and the teacher chooses two students to be the captains for a friendly game of kickball. The captains then start picking the ones they want on their team. The names are called out and you are still standing there raising your hand saying “Pick me. Pick me.” You end up being one of the last ones standing to be chosen.
One of the captains finally points your way and says “I’ll take that one.” Ugh! You feel as if your whole self esteem has been depleted.
But, then when you go out into the outfield to play your position, a player from the opposing team scans the field and looks your way to think “Oh yeah, I’m kicking right to their weak spot.” The pitcher rolls the ball, the kicker greets the ball with power, and the ball flings through the air heading in your direction. You lift your head when you hear the uniting between the player’s shoe and the ball, and the grunt of the kicker as they connect with all their might. The players on your team groan when they see the ball heading your way imagining that you are going to ruin the whole play, but they still shout out “Catch it!!!!”
You know your own strength and ability, so when you do catch the ball for the out, it is no surprise to you, but your teammates go wild in amazement and begin feeling energized knowing that they’ve got a player on their team.
Your classmates saw you in a whole new light and learned to appreciate you in a way they didn’t before. Why? All because you caught the ball, made a few more great plays, and this changed their “judgmental way” of thinking of you. This became a great turning point in your life.
Do you want to know who can relate to you? God can.
In Isaiah 65:1-5 we read, ““I’ve made myself available to those who haven’t bothered to ask. I’m here, ready to be found by those who haven’t bothered to look. I kept saying ‘I’m here, I’m right here’ to a nation that ignored me. I reached out day after day to a people who turned their backs on me, People who make wrong turns, who insist on doing things their own way. They get on my nerves, are rude to my face day after day,…. They say, ‘Keep your distance. Don’t touch me. I’m holier than thou.’ These people gag me. I can’t stand their stench.”
See, God has been the last one chosen. He has been bullied by others. He has been rejected. God has felt left out. People have felt that they were better than Him. He knows how the “underdog” feels.
But….when people finally do turn to God and trust in Him, they discover His amazing abilities. They realize that putting God off because they thought He wouldn’t be fun to hang with or that including Him in their life would put a damper on things, discover that including God became “the great turning point in their life”. Now they couldn’t imagine life without Him.
Can you relate? It doesn’t have to be kickball. This scenario takes place in our daily lives at any age and stage. Just know that God has your back.
Also, have you been aloof with God while He’s standing their saying “I’m here. Choose Me!”? What are you waiting for? Choose God. Now!
Blessings to you.
| October 13, “Walking in the Word” |