sensitive to opportunities that He may bring our way. Luke 6 says:
36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
This is the mindset, the stance for our life in Christ, which I believe is marked by generosity. I also believe the Bible teaches that God will give us the means and the opportunity to bless other people, and in so doing, we testify to what He has given us - salvation through Jesus Christ! He gave His life, and we respond by giving our lives to Him. He has not granted us salvation merely to keep it to ourselves, but to be willing to share in a world that needs to be touched with the gospel.
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10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
You know the drill - you go into the local department store or grocery store and see a family that seems a bit frazzled; they've filled their cart, they have maybe one, two or three kids that are behaving a bit, unruly, perhaps even begging for whatever treats are there at the checkout line. They're just not having a good day! And, the whole process of checking out is just not pleasant, either. You've been there, right? Or, that may even be you.
Well, this was the situation the Jordan family from South Carolina found themselves in recently. And the mom, Ashley Jordan, posted about her experience on Facebook. The story was picked up by WLTX television station, as well as Faithwire.com. Ashley had posted:
It was another dreaded shopping trip trying to buy groceries for a family of 5. We got as much stuff as we could get on my husband's income since I'm a Stay at Home Mom. We literally dread going to Walmart and buying groceries period because my husband's whole check goes to food for our family.Now, pay careful attention to this account from the WLTX website:
Sharnique Dasant, a customer service manager at the Walmart on Garners Ferry Rd., says she had other plans for her Saturday night.
"I was supposed to go to my mom's fashion show," Dasant said, "I wasn't able to go because of work."
Dasant says when she got on a register, it did not have bags so she had to switch.
"After I moved to that register, that's when Ashley came into the line," Dasant said.Did you catch that? Sharnique wasn't supposed to be there at all. And, she was supposed to be at another register.
Sharnique relates, ""She started putting her stuff up, her baby was crying, she had her husband with her." She then added, "As we're scanning and scanning, she got in front of me and it's like I saw a different face on her," adding,. "And I just had like a little man on my shoulder that was like, 'Give her a $100 dollars, give her $100 dollars.' And I was like, 'give her $100 dollars?' Like, I'm talking to myself like, 'Give her 100 dollars!'"
The story continues:
"So I was like, I said, 'Yeah, God told me to give you $100 dollars,'" Dasant said, "and she said 'What? What? What are you talking about?' So I said, 'He told me to give you $100 dollars.' So I went ahead and I slid my card. I went around the register and I slid it for her."In Ashley Jordan's Facebook post, which is now at over 28,000 responses, she writes, "...you truly are a blessing and you will never realize how much you helped us out and how much faith you have put back into our hearts."
Sharnique didn't have to, but it could be that she indeed felt a prompting from God, which a local media outlet deemed as newsworthy. In an age where so much news seems to skew negative, it's important that we focus regularly on where God is working. I don't know what the pay scale for a Walmart cashier might be, but I would imagine $100 is significant. But, this young lady was apparently obedient to God, and I believe that He will bless her obedience. As 2nd Corinthians 9 teaches us, He provided some seed to be used for His glory.
I also want to return to the orchestration of events here. Sharnique wasn't "supposed" to be at work that night, but she was. She moved to another register, and the Jordans appeared. Think back on a situation perhaps in your own life when plans or circumstances changed, but you realize that you were just where you were supposed to be. I believe God had a plan to bless the Jordans, and of course, to make Sharnique a participant in His grand plan.
I was reminded of the series of events depicted in the upcoming film, The Case for Christ, which is the story of how noted Christian apologist Lee Strobel came to Christ. In the movie, Lee and his wife, Leslie, are in a restaurant when their young daughter starts choking. A lady, who is a nurse, steps forward to help save the girl's life. She attributes it to God, which attracts Leslie's attention - she begins to attend church, and this sets Lee, a journalist, on a search to disprove his wife claims about Christ. That didn't go so well - ultimately, Lee became a Christian and has impacted many with his teachings on Christian apologetics. The movie premieres April 7, with a special one-night-only event on the 6th, featuring a Q&A with the Strobels.
Our main takeaway for today is that God is working, and when He calls, when His Spirit prompts, it's important that our hearts are in a position so that we respond to Him. The question becomes: are we listening? Are we in a spiritually sensitive state so that when He directs, we are quick to obey. We can also examine whether or not we operate out of a sense of generosity, as believers in the One who gave His life for us.
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