Dear Treasured Friends

Have I told you about the time the Lord spoke to my heart . . . in a bowling alley? Sounds funny, I know. But have you ever had a time when you heard from God in an unusual place or from an unusual source?

Have you ever found yourself bursting into impromptu praise and worship in the shower? Or felt an urgent prompting from the Holy Spirit in your car on the way to work? Or perhaps you learned a profound spiritual truth from your kids or grandkids? I just love how God can interrupt our day in any number of unexpected ways to speak to us!

I want to share what it was that the Lord spoke to me that day in the bowling alley, but first, I’d like to remind you of a really important truth that I hope you’ll get deep down in your spirit: God cares about every single area of your life. There is nothing too big or too small for Him.

If there is anything in your life that is stealing your peace, causing you to feel worried, or filling you with fear, God cares. And He wants you to bring it to Him, no matter how big or small. Isaiah 26:3 says, You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You . . .

And Jesus told us in John 14:27 . . . “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

As a child of God, you don’t have to go through life feeling troubled or afraid. Peace, provision, and protection are your birthright in Christ! I think one of the most powerful pictures of God in the Bible is that of a shepherd who will do anything to protect and provide for His sheep. David wrote . . . The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want (Psalms 23:1). The word “my” is a word that shows possession. David wasn’t just saying: The Lord is a shepherd — he wrote: The Lord is my shepherd. This is important for us to understand because it’s so easy to view God as distant, too busy, or uninvolved in our day-to-day lives.

We may not have a problem picturing Him as Creator of the universe and Ruler over all creation, but do we see Him as our Shepherd? Or let me ask it this way . . . Do you see Him as your Shepherd?

When you learn how to see him as your Shepherd, you’ll have the freedom and confidence to bring any care to Him first, knowing that He loves you unconditionally and He wants to meet your need:

• When costs rise, and money is tight, you can go to God first (Philippians 4:19).
• When the world feels chaotic, and you feel your stress rising, you can go to God first (John 16:33).
• When a person or circumstance comes against you, you can go to God first (Isaiah 54:17).

God cares about everything that concerns or troubles you. He is always with you, ready to answer when you call to Him. That’s how much He loves you!

Understanding God’s closeness has taught me that I can come to Him at any time, for any reason, because He is my Shepherd too. It has been a freeing revelation in my life. And this leads me to the bowling alley story . . .

I had been a Christian for a number of years, but I didn’t have that intimate relationship with God yet. I guess you could say I viewed Him as distant. But God had begun to show me how much He loved me and that my relationship with Him was personal, intimate, and possessive. He was my Shepherd.

So, I was out bowling with friends one night and having a terrible game. I’m not a great bowler anyway, but on that night, I was awful. And I was feeling embarrassed. I remember that something in my heart said . . . Why don’t you ask Me to help you bowl? And do you know what? That’s precisely what I did! I took that care — such a small matter in the grand scheme of things — and gave it right to God.

I’m not going to tell you I bowled all strikes the rest of the night, but I learned something in that loud bowling alley on a frustrating night . . . The same God who saved me and made it possible for me to live eternally with Him in heaven is the same God cares about the smallest parts of my day. And the same is true for you!

God isn’t distant, detached, or unapproachable. He cares when you receive an unexpected bill, when a coworker talks behind your back, or when a friendship falls apart. There is nothing in your life too big or too small that you can’t bring to Him.

His peace, protection, and provision are available to you today. So, cast your cares on Him and trust Him to meet any need you are facing, no matter how big or small.

The Lord is my Shepherd,

Let me offer one final encouragement: Listen for God’s voice today. You don’t have to be in a church, in a worship service, or even in a good mood. He can speak to you anywhere — even in a bowling alley.