Those who have studied and written books about what they
call ‘love language’ say that each of us feels loved in a particular way. For
some, it is receiving a gift, or a touch, or being heard. For me, having someone listen is important, but I feel
most loved by meaningful conversation.
While this may not seem to meaningful to others, a few
days ago the Holy Spirit kept nudging me. I am making a king-size quilt for our
son. The top is done. The fabric that goes on the back was stiff and wrinkled.
I put it through the steam/refresh cycle on my dryer, then ironed it — an
exhausting task, and it was still stiff and had some wrinkles. Then the Holy
Spirit kept telling me I should wash it. (Yes, He cares about everything I’m
doing.)
I kept resisting. “But I’ve already ironed it.” I’d
covered my craft table with a double flannelette sheet and taped it for that
task. It was no fun at all. But that still small voice persisted. So finally, I
gave in and washed the thing . . .
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts . . .” (Psalm 95:6–8)
Usually this verse in context is about hearing God speak
regarding spiritual matters, such as ‘repent and be saved’ but it applies also
to daily instruction from the Holy Spirit. I’m not to harden my heart — but
listen — and listening to God is a form of worship, a way to show my love to
Him. From this, I realize that God and I have the same love language! 😊
Worship means to bow down, to attribute worth, to exalt as
supreme. It also means to give proper attention due, which means listening and
obeying what God says. In other words, washing that huge hunk of fabric was an
act of worship.
The funny thing is that even in this, God was looking out
for my best interests. This is true of all His commands, but I had a senior moment
or something and totally forgot that He loves me and wants good things for me.
I’d imagined taking that yardage out of the washer/drying and having to iron it
all over again.
NOT. It came out wrinkle-free, soft and ready to put on my
quilting machine and use. I still will need another person to help me with that
task, but no ironing necessary and it looks and feels the way it should. I
didn’t realize that God knows how to quilt!
^^^^^^
Lord Jesus, when You invite me to kneel before You in
worship I usually think of prayer, singing praise, speaking of Your attributes,
and many other things, but now realize that listening to You and doing what You
say is also an important way of expressing worship. Your will might involve
enormous tasks that change the world, but You are also interested in the
success of smaller tasks. You know how challenging this project has been (I
told my son when I finished it, I was going to kill him) and how often I’ve
called out to You for persistence. Thank You for reminding me that You are the
expert Creator and that I need to pay attention when the Spirit tells me how to
accomplish even a project like this.
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