Doing Everything for the Glory of God

When God asks us to be His arms here on earth, many times we ask ourselves, how? What can we possibly do that would help Him make this world a better place? Many times we tend to overthink this. We think of great things we could do and then if we come up short, we give up. But most of the times, all that God wants is for us to be His arms in our everyday lives. Not all of us are called to be Mother Theresa and move to Africa to feed the poor. He needs us to be more like St. Theresa of Lisieux, the Little Flower. We need to do the little things with great love. And then and only then, will He be able to do great things through us.

During Lent, we meditated on some amazing characters from the Bible. Most of those persons were simple individuals who God called and because of their "yes," God was able to do great things through them. They probably didn't think they could do it when they heard the call, but inspired by the Holy Spirit, they ended up in the Bible. There was one character that we never met because I put her name back inside the box. For those that did not read my Lenten journey, I'll explain. At the beginning of Lent, I placed about fifty names in a little box. I would then pray to the Holy Spirit and pull out one name from the box. Some of the characters inspired me to write a few days worth of meditations while others took only a day. As we approached Easter Sunday, I still had close to twenty names inside the box. I was getting very nervous because I felt that Mama Mary had to be mentioned in our journey and I still had not pulled out her name from the box. On Easter Vigil, as I was about to pull out the last name from the box, I prayed to the Holy Spirit: "Please, please, let it be Mary. I need to write about Mary on Easter Sunday, no one else will do." I put my hand inside the box, I pulled out a piece of paper with shaky hands, I opened it with my eyes closed, I slowly opened them to take a peek and I read, Lydia. "Lydia, seriously, You want me to write about Lydia on Easter Sunday? You have got to be kidding me." I was not happy and I defied the Holy Spirit by putting Lydia's name back inside the box. "Let's try this one more time," I said out loud causing my husband to raise an eyebrow thinking I was losing my marbles. "If Lydia comes out again, then I'll research who she is and I'll find the reason why You want me to write about her on Easter Sunday." I gave the box a good shake, I took out a new piece of paper, I opened it, and I jumped in joy when I read Mama Mary clearly written on it." But Lydia stayed in the back of my mind and today I decided to take out my Bible and read about Lydia.

It turns out that Lydia is the perfect example of someone that became God's arm in her little world. Lydia is only mentioned in three verses in the Bible:

"On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home... They went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed." Acts 13-15, 40.

Lydia was a "dealer in purple cloth" which means that she was a business woman, something very normal today but not as common in her time. The city of Thyatira was known for producing a unique purple dye and Lydia was expanding her business to Philippi. That's where she meets Paul.

Lydia was also a "worshipper of God." Many successful business men and women don't have time for God. Their business becomes their god. This was not the case with Lydia. She probably knew that to compete in a man's world she had to have knowledge and dedication, but this didn't mean that she had to turn her back to God. And so we meet her on the sabbath day, worshipping with other women.

As she listened to Paul, her heart was opened to Christ's teachings and she converted. Not only was she baptized but through her conversion, her whole household was baptized. This means her family and her servants, because I am sure that as a prominent business woman who opened the doors of her house to Paul and his entourage, she had to have servants. God used this unknown business woman, to convert many. Being Christian did not make her less of a business woman. On the contrary, now she had Jesus as her business partner. She had become His arm in her world of trading. Not only could His message be spread though her to other business men and women, but as a good Christian woman, she probably used some of her business profits to assist Paul in his ministry.

Lydia continued to sell her dyes while serving God at the same time. God did not ask her to turn her back on her business. He used her where she was. And she continued to sell her purple clothing for the glory of God.

So how can we be God's arm in our own little world? Good question. It may require some praying time and some alone time with Jesus to find the answer. For those of us attending the Spiritual Exercises this coming weekend, we will have plenty of time to pray, think and meditate. For the rest, spending some alone time before going to sleep or in the early morning hours, I usually find are the best times to listen to God's voice within our hearts.

Please keep those of us that will be attending the Spiritual Exercises in your prayers. May our hearts be opened to listen to God's voice and may we be willing to obey Him in whatever He asks of us. May we do everything for the glory of God.