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How God Shines through Dirty Windows



Dirty windows shown to show how Got works through dirty, imperfect people.

A day after I had not had one of my better days as a Christian, I received a phone call. It was a friend of mine telling me her brother was in the hospital and had just been hooked up to a breathing machine. She said he had complained about stomach pains, had pneumonia, and was not doing well.

A Prayer I Had Published


Before leaving for the hospital, I began thinking about how my friend began her conversation. She mentioned a prayer I posted on Facebook the previous day and said she had to call me and ask for prayer. My prayer was for anyone who was hospitalized. I prayed the Holy Spirit would enter the halls and rooms of hospitals and protect those about to receive treatment, and the families and friends who waited for news.


I was not worthy to be used by God, and he agreed.


I sat in my car second guessing myself. “Gary, you're not worthy to minister to your friend's brother.” The previous day was not one of my better days as a Christian. In fact, instead of walking the Christian walk, I stumbled and fumbled, and then fell. I certainly was not worthy to be used by the Lord.


The Lord Reminded Me


That’s when the Lord stepped in. He agreed with me, but reminded me he shines through dirty windows, a fact I’ve point out to my life coaching clients.

Driving home after my visit, I was struck by how the Lord used me, how he aligned everything to use me, despite my being a dirty window. I recalled the prayer I posted earlier that day. I prayed about how the Lord asks us to be lights on a hill, how his light vanishes darkness. I asked him to use me to bring comfort to someone who needed his loving touch.


The Glass Seems to Disappear


One of the most memorable marketing themes was used by Windex claiming its window cleaner did its job so well the glass seemed to disappear. This is the same way we need to approach answering the Lord’s call for us to serve others.


Simply put, when the Lord asks us to serve, we should respond in a way that glorifies him, not ourselves. As his light shines through windows like you and me, and dirty windows at that, we should disappear, allowing his love, mercy, and grace to shine through.


Additional reading:


Listen to God’s Words


All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)


By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30)


For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15)


Also read: John 5:19-20, Romans 3:23, Galatians 5:16


In the Words of Others


“Let us consider ourselves unworthy of being used by God and having others think of us, and then we will be well off.” St. Vincent de Paul


“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” Timothy Keller


“There is something perfect to be found in the imperfect: the law keeps balance through the juxtaposition of beauty, which gains perfection through nurtured imperfection.” Dejan Stojanovic


Think About It

  • Have you felt the Lord leading you to do something but delayed because you felt unworthy? Recall the circumstances.

  • How has the Lord used you to serve others in ways you never thought were possible?

  • Describe the circumstances and how you believe the Lord was involved.

  • Recall an instance when you felt emotionally or mentally unprepared to do something, and you turned to the Lord in prayer. What happened?


Information about Midlife Plus Christian Life Coaching.

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