Earlier this year, as I celebrated my 43rd birthday, I decided that it was time to become more pro-active about my health. In June I mapped out a course that takes me from my apartment to the steps of the courthouse and back – a four mile walk that takes me a little over an hour to complete. I have a busy day and being a creature of habit, I knew that I would have to make time for the walk – the only time that would work was first thing in the morning. So, I began walking each morning between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m, nearly thirty minutes before the first rays of sunrise. One morning I was running late for several reasons and started my walk closer to 6:00 a.m. and what I began to notice about my morning walk truly amazes me.
The picture above – an old sidewalk at the intersection of Main and Clay Streets in Henderson, Kentucky was something I never expected to discover on my morning routine. Normally when I walk past this intersection, its still dark – but that particular morning, because of running late, the sun was up and I was noticing details about the town I live in simply because I was in a situation where I was more aware of my surroundings. I was now aware of the things that I passed by every day on my journeys that I never knew existed and never gave a second thought to. Shortly after I took the picture, I shared this picture in a Facebook photo album focused on Henderson and the immediate surrounding area, I wondered what blessings God has given to me that I have not noticed or shown him my gratitude because I have been too “busy.” If I had not been walking after the sun had come up, I might have missed that little reminder of a bygone era of local history.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonike In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (I Thessalonians 5:18). At first, its hard to understand what exactly we need to be thankful for – but everything literally means – EVERYTHING. As I think about the apostle James and his writing to early Christians, Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (James 4:13-14), I am reminded that I am not promised tomorrow. With that in mind, the very act of waking up in the morning, the four mile walk, the hot shower, the challenges of being the father of a three-year old daughter, and everything else I face each day now become the very things that I must stop and give thanks to God for the blessings of life.
The apostle John reminded the early Christians he wrote that Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward (II John 1:8). John is reminding his readers that we are supposed to be mindful of everything that we have as Christians – the gifts of salvation, forgiveness, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the fruits of our salvation – and in doing so, it will allow us to receive the rewards that the Lord Jesus Christ has set before us. We do this as pointed out by the apostle James as he wrote But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22). We gain our heavenly rewards based on remembering and by doing the things that the Lord Jesus Christ would have us to do. We do these things by paying attention and being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I have found that it is not the large things that I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to that are the problem – it is the smaller things that the Spirit leads us to that we often overlook. When is the last time you felt the Holy Spirit leading you to share the gospel or a kind word to someone you came across? When is the last time you let the Holy Spirit lead you to buying a meal for the homeless man or woman you met on your daily routine. When is the last time you took time to pray for a co-worker that you saw was having a bad day or dealing with loss? These are all small things in the eyes of man and often go unnoticed by many professing Christians. It should come as no surprise when Jesus taught those listening to him that day Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me (Matthew 25:45). Those who are willing to feed the hungry, give living water to the spiritually thirsty, who offered a smile and a kind word to the stranger, took care of the poor, visit and pray for the sick, downtrodden, depressed, or visit those in prisons are the ones that are paying attention to even the must slightest leading of the Holy Spirit. While they may not have the accolades of men, their deeds do not go unnoticed by a kind and loving God.
Although Jesus is teaching about alms, or the giving of clothing, food, shelter, or care to the poor, there is a spiritual teaching that can gleaned from it when He states Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward (Matthew 6:1-2). Those little things we do in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit may not be noticed by your family, your friends, or even your pastor, but they are noticed by God.
