Extreme Kindness

There are times when God completely amazes me. God is wonderful, I know that, He is good, that too, I know the adjectives, the adverbs, and the superlatives; but sometimes, sometimes, He literally leaves me speechless. We serve a transcendent God who has made Himself immanent, and sometimes, He gives us the most personalized treatment.

This great love we sing about translates into attention, extreme kindness, tenderness, and love shown toward an individual. Two wonderful conversations I had in recent days reminded me of this again.

Yesterday I spoke to someone on the phone, and we talked about an incident that happened several months ago. One Sunday, toward the end of the service, I approached her and began to prophesy; I spoke about God's desire for her success, her fear of failure, and other aspects of her life; it was powerful, it was clear, and most importantly, it was a surprise. After all, I thought I knew things were going well for her, and I was thinking, what's the point of this talk? Well, I was about to find out very quickly that things were far from going well; she had just experienced a major setback and had been quite concerned about the future.

Indeed, for two days.

She was asking God what would become of her, feeling lost and confused. And what was her surprise and relief when I went to her and began to talk. She was very touched and grateful to God for this personalized attention and for having told her about her situation when I myself knew nothing. Throughout the difficult period that followed, including when hope was scarce, she remembered how God Himself had taken the lead and given an unexpected promise of a happy outcome. And this was because He loves. And yesterday, when this person called, it was to inform me of a breakthrough. Oh the extreme goodness of our loving Father.

The other wonderful conversation happened two days ago, another case of extreme kindness and personalized attention. It so happened that during the prayer meeting, while I was completely unaware and busy praying, God gave me a prophetic word for someone on my team. This prophecy seemed to be carried on wings, the words flowed so smoothly and beautifully. The tenderness of the Father's heart was almost palpable, the content unexpected, the style most intimate and gentle. As I prophesied, I marveled at it; it was one of those times when God seems determined to communicate to the point where you feel that even if you were to close your mouth, the words would still come out, I can't tell you how; it was that powerful. The person to whom they were addressed was of course in tears. I thought, OK, this is a prophetic time, who's next, Lord? Nobody, it was over. Hm!

And then I started thinking, 'What a powerful word!' Lord, what's going on? We love the person, they're wonderful, faithful, and everything, but 'what a powerful word'; and why did you focus so exclusively on them by giving them such a powerful word? Don't you think that others might feel somewhat forgotten? The next day, I was still thinking about it; and I discussed it with someone else who was there, and we both marveled at the depth and tenderness of the prophecy. Well, on Sunday, I got my answer. The person came to me to talk about some of the personal situations they had faced during the week, the decisions they had made to honor God, to honor their covenant and their calling, despite the cost. And they had implored God to give them words of encouragement; and they were not disappointed.

I was blown away. I got my answer and at the same time I was moved by God's kindness, the way He made sure to let her know that He was watching over her, that she would not fail for having chosen the path of excellence and faithfulness; I was also grateful that I was mentally and spiritually in a state to give her this word when I had experienced a spiritual attack the night before. To think that God would go to such lengths in such a situation to encourage His child about his life! The war continues in Afghanistan, difficulties persist in Eritrea, and the Uyghurs are waiting for a solution, but in the midst of it all, God leans over a child in a music studio in Paris and whispers words of love and encouragement. Nothing short of extreme kindness.

If you open your heart to Him today, you too will benefit from personalized treatment. Shalom!