A colleague I worked with some time ago was a frequent user of this expression and in a moment of frustration, I snapped, “Well why don’t you ask Him then?” The look on his face was priceless.
After preaching at a country church one Sunday, I received a telephone call (no number identified) and was greeted by an unfamiliar voice saying, “I want to know who told you”. I tried to politely say that I had no idea what he was talking about so he explained.
He had been in the congregation at that country church and something I said during my message was, in his opinion, directed at him, hence his question. I explained that I didn’t know him and confirmed no one had spoken about him to me and suggested that God may have used me to bring a message to him. We continued with an interesting conversation about how God leads preachers as to their subject when one has not been suggested by the church leaders.
Recently, at our church, we were visited by a preacher, known by a few, but whom I had never met. Facing a particular challenge, I was enjoying the interesting presentation when suddenly two statements were made that made me wonder, “Who told him?”
I am very aware that God knows all about me, including any “secret sins” and I frequently remind myself that I am an “open book” to Him. But the two statements from that message, from someone who didn’t know me or anything about me, made me marvel at the truth that “God knows”. My challenge has not disappeared, but my attitude and peace of mind have changed.
An old song includes a phrase of which a part is – Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. That message has helped me to do that and hopefully may help you as well.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, in acknowledging that you know all about us may we not assume it only relates to our faults but rather to our needs. AMEN.