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May 30, 2017 |
“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9 (NLT)
Sometimes the most profound lessons are learned in the most humble settings. That was true for me one day sitting in a blue cinder-block house in the mountains of Ecuador.
“What do you like to do with your free time?” I asked Dolores, a petite woman with sparkling dark eyes who lived there with her six children.
Through an interpreter, she explained that she enjoyed getting up at 4 a.m. to embroider the exquisite works of art adorning her children’s clothing. In her “free time,” Dolores was working to help her family. But as I continued to listen to her story, I learned something sacred was happening in those rare moments of silence.
Before our group left her home, my friend Luann asked Dolores two final questions: “How can we pray for you? What’s your greatest need?”
In the pause that happened while our interpreter did her work, I looked around Dolores’ snug house and made a list for her. “Lord, please give my new friend Dolores carpet for her floor and a ceiling to replace the plastic sheeting. Give her extra food in her kitchen and beds for all those children. Give her husband a job here, instead of far away so that she can have some help raising them … ”
When the interpreter told us her response, however, Dolores’ request was much different than mine. She said, “Please pray for me to teach my children to love the Lord all the days of their lives. That’s my greatest need.”
Dolores is a woman with an eternal perspective.
How has she gained it? From hearing about her life that day, I knew the beautiful answer. Dolores sits with Jesus before her children wake up each day. At 4 a.m., she’s embroidering and listening to Him. She stitches and she prays, so although she’s physically impoverished, she’s spiritually rich. Dolores knows the truth, and she lives it. That truth has changed everything for her.
This is a lesson I’ve learned over and over as I’ve listened to, watched and read stories from women all over the world …
Like the woman in India who meets Jesus and now understands the peace that settled on her when God’s Word was read to her.
Or the woman in Africa who starts her day with friends in a concrete room, raising her beautiful voice in worship.
The woman in Scotland raising her daughter on a mission base, so she can shine Jesus’ light into the community around her.
They may live in different places, eat different food and speak different languages, but one day — at the end of time — they’ll all be in the same place.
As Revelation 7:9 tells us, they’ll all be standing around the throne where Jesus, the Lamb of God, sits, and they’ll be shouting in a great, unified roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10, NLT)
These women will all bring this wise lesson from their physical lives into their eternal lives: Know the Truth. Live the Truth. It changes everything.
I know where I want to be standing when time winds down and the Lord reigns over everything. I want to stand in that crowd with people of every color, dialect and citizenship. I invite you … I implore you … come stand with me.
Lord, I believe the Truth that You’re Savior. I want to live Your Truth in my life every day. I want to experience every beautiful change You have in store for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Revelation 7:17, “For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (NLT)
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REFLECT AND RESPOND:
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Who will you lead to know the Truth today, so you’ll stand elbow-to-elbow with them in front of Jesus’ throne?
© 2017 by Amy Carroll. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
630 Team Rd., Suite 100
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
Originally published Tuesday, 30 May 2017.
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