I Spy God

A co-worker of mine just had her first baby.  When she was pregnant, she read all the pregnancy books, searched all the baby websites, talked with all sorts of moms, and knew every inch of the topic.  It actually became quite aggravating because all that was ever discussed was baby this and baby that…how big he was going to be, what his name was, how the dog would accept him, what sports he was going to do, what diapers were best, what crib she bought, what outfit he’d wear going home, blah blah blah.

Now, I understand the excitement of being pregnant and having babies, I have had four of them myself, but this time it just bugged me that “baby” seemed to be the only topic of conversation around the office.  I, quite frankly, was so looking forward to her having that baby so she could be gone for nine weeks on maternity leave and the baby conversations would end.

God actually answered that prayer by bringing baby a bit sooner than expected, and giving me a much needed reprieve from all the baby talk.

That was very nice of Him.

Although interestingly enough I noticed I was sounding a lot like the whining and moaning Israelites when they didn’t like God’s plans for them…

in the food God was providing…

Numbers 11:4-6   Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt… But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”  

Numbers 11:18b  “Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.”

or the leadership already in place…

1 Samuel 8:19-20  But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

1 Samuel 8:22  The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

But I took the reprieve and enjoyed the peace and quiet and actually was looking forward to her return without the added baby talk.

I was obviously in a state of severe denial.

Isn’t it interesting that God can get fed up with our whining, selfishness and pride enough to actually give us what we think we want just to prove His point that His plans are best and He wants us to learn something here??!!

God answered their prayer and gave them meat.  But…

Numbers 11:19-20  “You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him…”

God answered their prayer and gave them a king.  But…

1 Samuel 8:11-18   “…the king will take your sons and make them serve… to plow… and to make weapons…  He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.  He will take the best of your fields…  a tenth of your grain…  Your servants and the best of your cattle he will take for his own use.  He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.   When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen…”

You’d think I would’ve caught on more quickly that there was something God was trying to teach me.  But all I could see was that God answered my prayer and gave me “deliverance” from the baby talk…

for a time…

My co-worker came back a new person.  Calmer, skinnier (which I actually wasn’t too thrilled with), more settled and happier.  She fell into the work routine easily and all was going well.  Of course there was the initial talk of baby, birth, and sleep (or, lack of) but it was nice to have her back.

The second week of her being back, I noticed the baby talk starting up again.  She talked constantly about her son to anyone and everyone who would listen.  The last straw for me was when she was making an appointment on the phone with a total stranger and she easily swayed the conversation to her baby.  She went on and on about how she has a newborn at home, she’s not getting enough sleep, he’s so cute, life is so wonderful… it irked me to no end.  She could turn every conversation she had to her baby…

…then it hit me.  (yeah, yeah…you knew it was coming)

Isn’t that how we should act??  As followers of Christ, shouldn’t every person who comes into contact with us leave knowing that we love God and follow Him?

When you see a pregnant woman, you know immediately she’s pregnant; protruding baby belly, “What to Expect” book in hand, maternity clothes, glowing face. When you see a new mom, you know immediately she’s a new mom; diaper bag on her arm, a slightly different “What to Expect” book in hand, spit-up stained shirt, hair pulled back and lack-of-sleep-bags under very tired eyes…even her car screams it; “Build Your Baby’s Brain” plays through the speakers, car seat in the back, “baby on board” and sun visor in the window.

When people see us, they should know immediately that we’re a Christ follower; joy on our face, kindness in our actions, love toward others, peace in our countenance.  They should see it in the books we read, the music we listen to, the clothes we wear and yes, even on our cars.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples…”   John 13:35a 

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”   1 Peter 2:21 

“whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”   1 John 2:6  

When a pregnant woman or a mom opens her mouth it’s all about her baby, the plans she has for it, and the excitement and hope she has for the future because of it.

When we open our mouths, it should be all about what God has done for us, the peace and joy He gives us, and the hope we have for the future because of Him.  We should be able to sway every conversation into a conversation about God the way my co-worker talks incessantly about her baby.  He should be always in our mind and on our tongue.

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,”   Romans 1:1

“For the love of Christ controls us…”   2 Corinthians 5:14a 

“My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day…”   Psalm 71:15 

“And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent,”   Acts 18:9 

When people look at you, who do they see?  When they hear you talk, what do they hear and who do they hear about??

Matthew 16:24  “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'”

Galatians 2:20  “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Are you truly a follower of Christ?