God, Make Me A Noticer
God, Make Me A Noticer
One of the things I notice about the life of Jesus is that He was a noticer. He was always about the Father’s business. He would spend time with strangers at the most inopportune times because He noticed a need. How often do we take the time to notice needs in our daily routine?
The Jesus Model
One time Jesus was journeying with His disciples when He passed by an area known as Samaria. This area was avoided like the plague by all of the Jews. The Samaritans were viewed as half-breeds and idolaters. In fact, Jewish people would travel all the way around Samaria and add miles onto their journey just so they would not step foot into this God forsaken place. Jesus said something interesting as He was passing by Samaria. John 4:4 says, “Jesus needed to go through Samaria.” Why? Did He want to save time on His journey? Did He need to rest for the night? No! The truth is, Jesus needed to go through Samaria to notice a woman there. Women in New Testament times were anything but noticed. They were overlooked and rarely even acknowledged by men. Why would Jesus spend time going through Samaria just to meet with a woman? The reason is because Jesus loved people. He noticed a need in this woman’s life that needed to be met. As the story goes, Jesus meets a woman at the well in the heat of day. This was not the time when women would usually go to the well, and the Samaritan woman knew this. She was living an unholy life and probably wanted to avoid condemning stares and gossip of the other women who journeyed to the well. Jesus immediately addresses her need and explains that He is the answer to what she has been looking for as she went from marriage to marriage. He is the “Living Water.”
Are We Noticing People Like Jesus?
How valuable is your time? I assume with the routine of daily life, you can find yourself frantically running from one appointment to the next. I can only imagine the busyness of our Savior. He had crowds following Him with needs that were legitimate. He could have easily said that He didn’t have the time to notice this woman at the well. How often are your eyes open as you work, run errands, or spend time with people? Are we even considering that God desires for us to be noticers of the people who are hurting around us? People matter to God, so they should matter to us. I was in a gas station recently just buying a snack. I had my mind on my responsibilities for the rest of the day. If I am being honest, I wasn’t being present at the time. I set my snack on the counter and as the cashier began to ring up my goods, I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit. All of a sudden, I became aware that she had been crying and looked like she was concerned about something. I just asked how her day was going and it led to some tears and I got the chance to pray for her and tell her God cares for her and has not forgotten about her. I started to question how many times I had missed out on opportunities like this one by not allowing myself to notice a need right in front of me.
My Prayer For You
My prayer for myself and for any of you who took the time to read this is this; God make us noticers. We want to be a light in dark places and to share your love with those around us. Please guide us by your Holy Spirit and use us to speak life to those who are hurting. Give us eyes to see what you see and give us the words to speak your heart to those we notice in need.