Number One Fan

In disbelief, I sat and watched my beloved Florida Gators lose a game to an unranked, but nonetheless worthy opponent.

There are many fans who will viciously turn on their team after such a loss. We affectionately call them “fair weather fans”. There are those who will rant and rave and mope about in depression for the next week. There are some who will get on chat rooms, radio and television shows and blast the coaches and players for today’s game.

Humans can be so fickle! We tend to swap allegiances at the turn of the wind. There is no more commitment … to a team, an employer, a friend, or even a spouse.

Am I still a fan? Or am I a fair weather fan?

I am still a fan. I still wear orange and blue, have Gator memorabilia on my car, in my house, on my desk. I’m not happy about their apathetic performance today, but I’ll get over it. I am embarrassed to admit that, in the past, I have been one of those fans that left the stadium early when we were getting beat up on the field.

You and I have a Number One Fan that will not leave the stadium early in the fourth quarter when we are getting soundly beaten by life. He doesn’t stay mad at us for the next week until we have an opportunity to redeem ourselves. He does not armchair quarterback, even though He is certainly qualified! Not only can His allegiance not be swayed when we fall, but He still has us in the palm of His Hand. He never lets go. When we fall short, He’s our Number One Cheerleader, encouraging us, reminding us of His unending love for us, regardless of how often or badly we stumble. Our lackluster performance doesn’t deter Him from His pursuit of an intimate relationship with us.

My Number One Fan watches my every step, hears my every word and thought, sees everything I see. He watches over me with unfathomable care and concern. He cheers me on every time I stumble and fall. He sings over me when I rest contentedly in Him. When I’m sick, He ministers to me. When I’m hurting emotionally, He soothes my heart. When I am petulant or rebellious, He gently reminds me that He still loves me … unconditionally.

It matters not whether I perform perfectly today. He still loves me like crazy and will never let me go. No matter whether I am at the top of my game today or in serious need of practice, He is still right beside me, encouraging me like no other. What patience! What love!

He even wrote the most beautiful love letter – just for me! In it, He tells me the most amazing, sweetest things. I know the plans I have for you,. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. I watched over you as you were being formed in utter seclusion, as you were woven together in the dark of the womb. Every day of your life is recorded in My book. Every moment of your life was laid out before the beginning of time. My thoughts about you are precious! They are innumerable! You couldn’t even count them, they outnumber the grains of sand! My lovingkindness will never be taken from you. My faithfulness will never fail you. I love you with an everlasting love. I shower tender mercies on you. I bought your salvation with the Blood of My only, perfect Son. I have pursued you relentlessly. I am full of compassion, and graciousness, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. I will be merciful to your unrighteousness and I will cast your sins in the bottom of the ocean and will remember them no more. I even know the number of hairs on your head at any given second of the day!

How’s THAT for a Number One Fan?

I’ll bet no one else knows the number of hairs on Tim Tebow’s head.

Little Promptings can open BIG doors…

Driving to a lunch appointment one day this week, looking in my rearview mirror, I noticed the little heating elements in the back window again. My new-to-me car still had a few things I hadn’t figured out yet and needed to actually read the manual. (Sounds like a man, huh?) The thought entered my mind to get the owner’s manual out of the glove box. I had been meaning to look at that manual for some time now. But since I was driving down the road at the time (just like every other time I’d thought about the manual), I thought I’d just do it later (just like every other time I’d thought about the manual). When I stopped at a traffic light, the impression came to me again. I thought “the light is going to change soon, I’ll just do it later.” The light changed and two cars made it through the intersection before it changed again … and I was about eight cars back. Apparently I would be sitting for a few minutes. Again, and much stronger, the impression came to open the glove box and get the owners’ manual -- so strong, that I became frustrated that the thought wouldn’t go away. I reached over and opened the glove box. When the door dropped down, I burst out in thankful laughter and relief.

Rewind to a couple of days ago when I opened my file drawer to pull out the nightly backup cartridges for the office network servers. The ones that were scheduled to be used that night were not in the drawer. I searched my desk and the rest of my office, even going out to look in my car to see if they had fallen from my briefcase earlier in the week. Not there. I used another set of cartridges for that night and reminded myself to look on my desk at home for the cartridges. But at home that night, they were nowhere to be found. The next day I retraced my steps all over 6000 square feet of office space to find the tapes – undoubtedly left laying somewhere. Now I was becoming uneasy. Those cartridges are extremely expensive and contain valuable, confidential information. So I prayed for God to show me where the cartridges were. I forgot about it until the next morning when I went to switch cartridges again, remembered my dilemma and prayed again for the Holy Spirit to show me where to look or to bring it to my remembrance. In an hour or so, I left for my lunch appointment.

When I dropped the door open on the glove box and saw those cartridges – precisely where I had put them last week – I was at once relieved, joyful, a little embarrassed, and repentant. Belatedly, I recognized the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to me to open the glove box. It wasn’t some erratic thought from my own mind. I had to apologize to God for pushing away the impression. His Impression.

The only time I was ever concerned about figuring out how to turn on the rear-window defogger was early in my morning drive. I would always promise myself that I would get the owners manual out when I got to work and figure out where the switch is. By the time I got to work, the fog was gone and so was any thought of the owner’s manual. So, driving down the street at noon on a sunny day, it was very untypical for my mind to race to the mystery of the defogger switch.

Looking back over my life, there are SO many times that I’ve had an impression or urge that was so out of character, time or place that it couldn’t be me. If I followed that impression, I can always look back and see that it was the voice of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there are too many times that I pushed aside that prompting … and ended up in a bad situation.

In the past few years of my renewed walk with the Lord, I’ve learned that it’s ok to pray about the seemingly little things … like finding misplaced tape cartridges and car keys, like “healing” a corrupt hard drive that contained all my wedding pictures (that were not backed up!), like my lost dog coming home when I thought all hope was gone. I’ve experienced first hand that what is important to me is also important to Him. And He shows it by answering my prayers – if I pay attention to the nudging in my spirit.

When we get those little promptings … whether it is to smile at that sad stranger that you pass on the sidewalk, send a no-special-occasion card to a friend who’s suddenly on your mind, take a meal to a shut-in, or turn down a street that you don’t normally drive down … consider that it could be the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the results of following that prompt will surprise us!