Posted 11:34 pm Saturday, February 11, 2012
Experiencing A ‘God Moment’
Christian author Beth Moore likes to tell the story of “the hairbrush,” published in her book “Further Still.” The story is one of my favorites.
Beth was sitting in a crowded airport when she saw an old man being pushed in a wheelchair by a flight attendant. He was clean, but his long hair and fingernails made him the object of curiosity for many eyes in the terminal.
When the flight attendant left him at the end of Beth’s row of chairs, Beth knew God was speaking to her heart.
“Please, Lord, don’t make me witness to that man,” she thought.
“I’m not asking you to witness to him,” she heard in her heart. “I’m telling you to brush his hair.”
That was worse!
Beth was sitting in a crowded airport when she saw an old man being pushed in a wheelchair by a flight attendant. He was clean, but his long hair and fingernails made him the object of curiosity for many eyes in the terminal.
When the flight attendant left him at the end of Beth’s row of chairs, Beth knew God was speaking to her heart.
“Please, Lord, don’t make me witness to that man,” she thought.
“I’m not asking you to witness to him,” she heard in her heart. “I’m telling you to brush his hair.”
That was worse!
Beth didn’t even have a hairbrush, but she felt compelled to walk over to the man and ask — more than once, loudly, so he could hear her — for permission to brush his hair.
She was mortified.
He was visibly surprised, but she could get his hairbrush from his bag, if she wanted to.
His neglected hair was so tangled that she spent several minutes gently working out the knots. All the while marveling at the feeling of God’s love she had for the man.
When she finished, he told her that he had been in the hospital after open-heart surgery and his wife had been too sick to come visit him. He was getting on a plane to go home and see her.
“I was sitting here thinking to myself what a mess I must be for my bride,” he said.
She was mortified.
He was visibly surprised, but she could get his hairbrush from his bag, if she wanted to.
His neglected hair was so tangled that she spent several minutes gently working out the knots. All the while marveling at the feeling of God’s love she had for the man.
When she finished, he told her that he had been in the hospital after open-heart surgery and his wife had been too sick to come visit him. He was getting on a plane to go home and see her.
“I was sitting here thinking to myself what a mess I must be for my bride,” he said.
I love the story of Beth and the old man because of the compassion she showed, but that’s to be expected from a world-renowned Bible teacher. Why I love the story most is because she didn’t have to be a world-renowned Bible teacher to do what she did.
You could have brushed the man’s hair that day.
I was surprised at research from The LeTourneau University Center for Faith and Work that says only 49 percent of employed Christians who attend church “strongly agree” that their church “gives information, guidance, and support to live out faith at work.”
What about the other half? If they’re not getting that message, what on Earth are they getting?
There are two definitions of “minister” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. One is the noun for a clergy member, but the verb is more interesting.
“To minister” is “to give aid or service.” That’s all it says. Not give aid or service after you have a degree or if you work for a church. I love that.
“Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we’re completely unaware of the significance,” Beth wrote about her hairbrush experience. “This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I’ll never forget it.”
You could have brushed the man’s hair that day.
I was surprised at research from The LeTourneau University Center for Faith and Work that says only 49 percent of employed Christians who attend church “strongly agree” that their church “gives information, guidance, and support to live out faith at work.”
What about the other half? If they’re not getting that message, what on Earth are they getting?
There are two definitions of “minister” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. One is the noun for a clergy member, but the verb is more interesting.
“To minister” is “to give aid or service.” That’s all it says. Not give aid or service after you have a degree or if you work for a church. I love that.
“Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we’re completely unaware of the significance,” Beth wrote about her hairbrush experience. “This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I’ll never forget it.”
