In Cahoots with the Trinity

ID 51778711 © Michal Bednarek | Dreamstime.com

When you get to a place where your life is surrendered and in line with God’s intentions in the world (a place where you would always like to be), have you ever noticed the activity of God and Jesus through the Holy Spirit in a person’s life?

It’s an unimaginably, almost effortless existence of moving in and out of relationships and seeing God at work without a whole lot of help from you. Oh, yes, you are a participant (sometimes just an observer), but you are given the gift of seeing God at work.

Not too long ago, our granddaughter sat at the bedside of her dying grandmother, and she sensed sadness within Grandma. She boldly reassured her that she needn’t be sad because she would be in heaven and would no longer need a wheelchair. Her grandmother wept.

You see, Chris had never surrendered her life to God as far as we know. And yet, she was touched by her granddaughter’s reassurance. Her granddaughter’s life has been defined by profound physical, emotional and psychological issues that make one wonder if she really understood such deep things as death and eternity.

However, her father lives out a life of faith in front of her that she easily absorbs and carries with her. When the time was right, evidence of her understanding was used by God to comfort another. We were told of this tender interaction and could see God at work. We could tangibly observe the results of faith carried down through the generations and at work in this child.

There are other times when we are used by God to love others--a man who seemed to have no time for us suddenly wants to talk, and we listen as he shares his heart with us. A person who has held onto hostility toward us, and in a very difficult time, reaches out and asks for prayer. A person who we haven’t seen in decades calls and asks for a place to call home and is invited in.

A man walks into a church he used to attend as a child. He was on his way to work and “just happened’ to come inside. It was Pentecost Sunday, and I was given the privilege of preaching a sermon on the birth of the Church. He later pulled me aside and told me that God had given him insight into some things in his life that needed changing. This is what all pastors hope for…to see the Spirit at work in those with whom they share the message of Christ, inspiring those who hear, encouraging them to pass it on.

We serve as conduits of God’s grace, and our faith is strengthened, as well as the faith of those around us. To think that God would invite us into God’s kingdom in great and small ways brings no small joy into our lives and the lives of others. We are part of God’s great mission to the world. And this influence simultaneously comes through millions of people who love others and are open to being used by God across the nations. A very quiet revolution in the midst of a noisy and irreverent world.

To think that we are in cahoots with the Trinity!