Psalm 105:1-2 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Where’s my phone? I’m not a millennial, but my heart sank as I discovered the empty pocket on the outside of my purse where I kept my phone. My husband had picked me up between classes for a light dinner at Panera. As we started to head back to school, I discovered the missing phone. I retraced my steps, but with no success. My elusive phone was nowhere to be found. As we walked out of the campus Public Safety office, I prayed. Jesus, please help me find my phone!
Immediately I remembered when we sat down in the booth at the restaurant, my purse had fallen on the floor. A lightbulb went off. I excitedly said to my husband, “It’s on the floor at Panera!” When we got back to the café, a couple was sitting at the table we had exited. I explained what had happened, and the man reached down beneath the booth and said the words I longed to hear, “Here it is!” Overjoyed, I told them the whole story. Of how right after I asked Jesus to help me, I remembered my purse falling on the floor. I wanted to share the good news of answered prayer with these two strangers who had inadvertently become a part of the story.
Later, when I shared the incident with a friend, he remarked, “Your reward for sharing what God did is in heaven. You could have gone away without giving God glory and your reward would have just been a cellphone.”
I hadn’t really thought of it in terms of heavenly reward. But I believe it’s true. God gives us opportunities every day to tell others about his wonderful deeds. In fact, the psalmist exhorts us to praise the Lord by making his deeds known. To publicly give him thanks so others know the kind of God we serve. But we have a choice. Do we want an eternal reward that advances his kingdom, or do we settle for a phone?
“Oh where is my hairbrush?” sings Larry the Cucumber (Veggie Tales). That night I sang Oh where is my cellphone?” And God told me where to look.
Now I’m telling you about our wonderful God.