Are You Doing a Lower Job in your Community?

The other day, I came across a story of a man who was very ill in hospital. He thought he was going to die. He was so weak and needed some word to strengthen him. But he was in isolation ward, where only doctors and nurses are allowed. No visitors. He cried out to Jesus from deep in his heart. And Jesus sent someone. A cleaner. You see, the cleaner was always there cleaning, but he did not think about him. But the holyspirit, on that day, asked the cleaner to initiate a conversation. He spoke The word of God to him. The sick man was very encouraged. And his health started improving.

Then he desired in his heart a packet of banana crisps and a coke. And without speaking to this man, he turned up the following day carrying exactly that.This man was amazed by how responsive Jesus was to his prayers through this man.

The man kept passing by to say hi. The patient was soon healed and discharged!

Acts of Apostles 6:2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

St. Stephen and others, were picked to distribute food. An assisting position. But, like the cleaner in the story above, they were filled with the holyspirit. How? The cleaner was able to respond to the needs of the people around him, without physical prompting. But only by listening to, and staying tuned to the inspirations of the holyspirit. He was filled with the holyspirit.

In our communities, or work place, it is easy for one to feel that they are doing the smaller job. I am not the boss. I am not the leader. I am not the preacher. I am a gate keeper. I am a junior employee. Even when we pray, we mostly pray for leaders of our communities, but not their assistants, or the junior people. We will, these days of Corona, mainly pray for the medics, and forget the cleaner, the security guys, the food distributors. The people doing these jobs also often think of themselves that way. I do not have to be as holy as the preacher, or as tuned to holyspirit as the leader.

Acts of apostles 6:8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

Like the cleaner, St. Stephen whose work was to distribute food, was doing great wonders among the people.

And see the things that happened to him after this.

Acts 7: 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

When people came together to accuse him falsely, he had the courage to stand before them, and show them the real state of their hearts. And they decided to kill him. And he gazed up and saw the glory of God. And Jesus seated on the right hand of God. There you go!

He was a distributor of food. He saw Jesus seated at the right hand of God. And he knew his time and come. Then he did what his master Jesus did when His time came, He forgave those who were stoning him. And he went straight to the Jesus he was seeing with his eyes. He became the first Martyr.

The man who narrated the story above, was amazed by how Jesus could use a cleaner, probably because he was a senior person, or because he expected Jesus to send a pastor. The cleaners response to the holyspirit led to the recovery and conversion of the man. For Stephen, at the time of his stoning, Saul stood there and oversaw the whole process. After that, he was like possessed. The bible says he was breathing fire. He wanted to kill all Christians. But not for long.

Acts of apostles 9: 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 

The killing of Stephen, in a way, could have been a trigger to Paul, to be filled with passion to kill Christians. And hence the decision by Jesus Himself, to call him to serve His church with the same zeal he had, for killing Christian's.

So, to all of us Christian's, when we pray, let us remember to pray for everyone. From the most senior, to the lowest. You never know who Jesus will use to convert someone. For those seeking something, do not ignore the people who come to you. They might be the ones with the answers that you are seeking. To those doing these jobs, what would have happened if the cleaner, and Stephen could have refused to listen to holyspirit?

Listen and trust the Holyspirit.

Be blessed.