I was sitting in my mini-van when I had this huge idea over-take my heart. Go give her money.
“Her” was the young mom in the shiny gold bikini I had just met at our community pool. The “money” I was being told to give away was mine, and although I didn’t know exactly what I was going to spend it on, I knew it shouldn’t be wasted on a total stranger.
But for some reason, I put the car back in park, got out and awkwardly approached this teenage girl that I hadn’t even known a few hours ago.
“I want you to have this.” The words came out of my mouth and tears came out of her eyes.
What happened next was spectacular. I got back into my mini-van, knowing that I had just been part of a miracle. God and I teamed up in that city pool parking lot and all of a sudden I felt like I could light the world on fire!
I didn’t know it at the time, but God’s miracle wasn’t for the girl in the shiny gold bikini, it was for me. Because that day was the beginning of my kindness ministry. It was the need to share that single experience that turned me into a writer and a speaker.
Today’s Memory Verse is a continuation of our study from 1 Thessalonians. “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NLT) 
I never knew how intimately involved God wants to be in the tiny details of our lives. Why would a big God want to deal with my trivial stuff? Isn’t He too busy working out the world’s large-scale problems?
God is never too busy for you, my friend.
God is going to speak to you through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in us and does a remarkable job of guiding us into the right and out of the wrong. (I use the terms God and Holy Spirit interchangeably because I believe they are one and the same.)
When He talks, when He moves, we can’t afford to miss it. We have to be ready.
How do we make ourselves ready? How do we avoid stifling the Holy Spirit?
I’m certain there are a whole lot of theology experts out there who could really break this down for you, so I’m just going to stick with sharing what I know to work in my own life.
- Ask for it. – Ask God to use you, to make you a vessel for Him.
- Expect it. – Know that once you ask, it’s going to happen. God heard you.
- Look for it. – Go about your day on high alert, looking for ways God is showing himself to you and asking you to join Him in some little project.
- Obey it. – If you want the Holy Spirit to continue inviting you to the party, you have to say yes and go!
- Give praise for it. – When you lay your head down at night, think back over the day and thank God for a few specific ways you saw Him working in your life and the lives of others that day. Thank Him that you get to repeat the partnership tomorrow.
Teaming up with God, boldly following the prompting of the Holy Spirit, will open up miracles in your life.
You don’t have to be afraid. God won’t take you where you can’t go. He knows you better than you do.
And thanks to His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish more than we could ever ask or imagine.
