During Lent I've been preaching through the Exodus. We've been looking at how things were changing for the Israelites as they moved from 400 years of slavery toward freedom.
This morning the text was Exodus 8:16-19. This is the 3rd of the 10 "signs and wonders." We call them plagues, but in 7:3 we read that God says to Moses, "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt."
What we call plagues, God calls signs and wonders. Hmmm.... more about that in a minute. In Exodus 8:16-19 we read of the plague of gnats. Gnats aren't very big, but it doesn't take many of them to annoy us to no end. Exodus tells us that Aaron strikes the dust of the earth with his staff and the dust of the earth springs into life -- a most annoying form of life -- gnats! Without any warning, annoying, blood-sucking, irritating, worrisome, horrible little gnats -- everywhere!
Now if you've ever run into a cloud of gnats while fishing or hiking, then you know how annoying those little things can be. They get in your eyes, your nose, your ears, your throat - annoying little creatures. Now imagine the dust around you suddenly became gnats (and given my busy schedule if the dust around me in my home turned into gnats we'd be in some serious trouble!).
Back to what I said earlier -- what we call plagues, God calls signs and wonders. One of the definitions of a plague in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is "a cause of irritation; a nuisance." What we call a cause of irritation or nuisance, God calls signs and wonders.
What causes you irritation in your life? What are the little things that bug you. One of my pet peeves is the person who gets in the "10 items only line" with way more than 10 items (I've been known to secretly count their items when it looks more than 10). Or the driver a couple of cars in front of you who sits at the green light and by the time they get going, the line doesn't move fast enough and you're stuck through the light again (why does this always happen when you're running late and the last thing you need is another delay!).
The squeaky door hinge, the dripping faucet in the middle of the night, the loose drawer handle, the oven door that sticks, the car radio knob that falls off and rolls under the seat and you have to fish it out -- this is the stuff that drives us crazy!
We call them nuisances - annoying things that bug us. But is God wanting to use these moments in our life to show forth his signs and wonders? Maybe instead of getting annoyed at the person who's got 15 or 20 items in the 10 only lane has to get back home quickly to take care of a sick family member, or as a single mother who works two jobs, who needs to get home and relieve the baby sitter. Maybe God is wanting to show through us his signs and wonders -- to be kind and patient with someone who has a valid reason why they're in that line.
Or maybe the person taking so long at the light is lost in thought - they've just come from the doctors and are wondering how they'll tell their family there's nothing more the doctors can do. I remember driving home from the hospital my mother died, after sitting all night by her beside in her last hours of life. I drove home in a fog - if I can recall correctly I'm pretty sure a couple of people had to honk on me when the light turned green. Wouldn't it be a "sign and wonder" if we were patient with people who are slow at the light?
Maybe all the little annoyances of life are God's way of offering us opportunities to allow God's grace to flow through our lives. Maybe all the things that bug us are opportunities God chooses to work through us in order to grow the fruit of the Spirit in our lives -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Maybe, just maybe, all the little things that bug us are opportunities to allow God's signs and wonders to show up in our lives, and show others how much grace God has poured into our lives.
By God's Grace,
Michelle
