Today’s reading: Acts 8:26-40
Philip’s diligence in proclaiming Christ and spreading the Gospel message reminded me a little of the energizer bunny ads–he never seems to stop. But while Philip’s perseverance is certainly notable in Acts 8, something else about Philip drew my attention today. What really stood out so clearly to me was how in tune, and then submissive, Philip was to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Now I’ll speak only for myself here, but there are many days/times where I’m not very in tune to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and it’s typically when my plate is crammed full of things to do. When I’m in this state of “busyness” more often than not, the task at hand has my focus which causes me to miss out on opportunities that God has for me.
Here’s an example. I’m working on a project in the house and realize that I don’t have a specific item I need to complete the project. That frustrates me because now I have to go to the store. So I jump in the car, drive across town, run into the store and with tunnel-like vision go straight to the isle I need, grab my item and head to checkout counter. Now while that all sounds fine, here’s what I’ve missed. In my driven state of mind, I failed to take note of the elderly man who was struggling to get in the door of the store. It would have taken me less than a minute to show him kindness and display God’s love. And when I checked out, I ignored the fact that the young lady scanning my item seemed overwhelmed, unhappy and stressed. I could have engaged her in conversation, asked her what was wrong or simply offered an encouraging word in no time at all, but I didn’t. So two missed Holy Spirit opportunities.
On a scale from 1-10, how aware of and in tune would you say you are to the prompting of the Holy Spirit? What are some things you can do to help increase the number you selected on the 1-10 scale? Is asking God to help you be more aware of His prompting and leading part of your daily prayer routine? Tami
Source: Tami’s Blog