crack a smile

The satanic influencers have always been here and more than eager to grab the attention our curiosity compels us to give to it. In the movies, in music, in the church, in the schools, in the government, and on occasion, to close for our comfort. And even on ships.

On our much-needed time out, my beloved and I encountered, aboard an idyllic cruise, more of satan's influencers. It wasn't what they said, for they said nothing. They used words on their clothing to promote their feelings. The words were angry, insulting, offensive, and ready to pull the trigger on those who don't know better.

Yes, I saw them. Yes, I looked at them. And I felt the hair-trigger ready to spring. And I went to my neutralizer, the Holy Spirit, and let Him rise up in me. And then! I looked UPON them. I saw pain. I saw disappointment. I saw, "look at me, look at me, look at me, PLEASE?!" And I did.

To those the Father pointed out, I was led to not say a single word other than to be the first to make eye contact and to say "hi!" with just a grin. I thought great! Easy enough! Woohoo! Easy lesson. It was easy, to just be me, just walking through with Jesus.

And do you know what happened?? The first time the eye contact took them by surprise but they returned the "hi!". And as I began to see them more often, the greetings got easier and small grins turned to bigger grins. Wariness was still there but the shell had been cracked. Yep, I saw first hand Jesus seeking the 1 in 99 in action and all I had to do was keep my opinionated thoughts to myself. While it wasn't easy for me to see the human behind the mask, God used my willingness to be a vessel to shine His light as a good, good God who loves all of us.

Was I to go into this unaccompanied and unawares? Nope! I knowingly walked with angels as well. And knowing this was a big deal!! By saying nothing, I angered the enemy to the nth degree. It threw darts at me of my worst fears. In my sleep it tortured me with horriffic dreams. Yes I prayed for protection. Yes I prayed the shed blood of Jesus over me and mine. Yes I prayed for as many as I could to thwart evils attempt to overthrow the mission. It got so bad that I began drowning in the "what-if's" and it was awful!! Evil tried to go all out and convince me of impending doom and death and to quit being nice to its hostages.

And then I prayed for just me. For Jesus to love on just me. And He asked me to send a note to my friends. Linda, a truly mighty no-nonsense warrior responded back by sentencing this assault to Jesus Himself. And just like that, the torture all stopped. The interactions with a particular hostage became more frequent and at last it came with a friend. And I saw a crack in the mask caused by the Love of God.

The lesson was to be a vessel. Not a preacher, or a judge, or a teacher, or anything but only me, just a vessel. Just to show up so that Our Father who pursues all lost sheep can use us in circumstances by divine design to cause them look up and see Him. Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd, saying, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd”, John 10:16–17). Then in verses 27–29 He says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” Because we all matter to Father.

And being of the 99? Are we relegated to the plight of the oldest child syndrome, steadfast and stalwart requiring little but always responsible? Nope!!! We get all the perks of being the teacher's pet.