“…But those who ·follow the true way [do what is true; live
by the truth] come to the light, and it ·shows [may be seen] that the things
they do were done ·through [or in the sight of; or in obedience to; in] God.”
(John 3:21 EXB)
It seems God has placed this specific verse on my heart;
unable to sleep I woke at 3am and after watching the clock, trying to convince
God that I needed sleep. I was avoiding what God had been
stirring in me for the past few days (to write my blog) but at 430am I finally
gave in and turned on the light. I grabbed my laptop and Bible, sat down and
started to pray for direction, I needed a verse so I could know what He wanted me to write and
immediately ‘John 3:21’ was given to me. I know John 3:16-17, but didn’t even
know what John 3:21 was about.
After opening my Bible and reading the verse, I was reminded
of one of the prayers we had today at our Ladies Prayer meeting – about having
a purpose given to us by God, and fulfilling that purpose. In my Bible I read
from the New King James Version - Jesus said, “But he who does the truth comes
to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” The bolded ‘been
done’ has a note that says this is from the word ‘ergazomai’ compare to the
word ‘energy’, to work, be busy, accomplish something, carry on a trade,
produce things, be engaged in, toil, perform, to do business – ‘ergazomai’ is
the opposite of idleness, laziness, or inactivity.
I’ve been praying for guidance and specific direction with
my business and recently God has shown me what I was seeking. When I first
started with Scentsy, it wasn’t meant to be anything more than just getting
discounts on warmers and wax for our home, but God has used my business to
change me. I’m a shy person, I do not like to step out of my comfort zone,
but I soon learned that when I shared Scentsy with people, I was sharing more
than just wax – I was witnessing to people. Since I had been writing my blog
for a few months when I started with Scentsy, I felt that God wanted me to have my business
cards two-sided with information on my blog and FB page on the other side. I
was nervous about sending the business cards for approval, but of course with
prayer, my two-sided cards were approved. I took that as further encouragement
and began to share more boldly than I had before and began to notice that
either I was good at selling or I was blessed (here’s a hint, I’m not good at ‘selling’).
This weekend I went to my first Scentsy event and even
though it seemed I shouldn’t go, I had to drive by myself over 300 miles and my
husband wasn't comfortable with me going by myself – but God had a plan for that trip. I had
some great worship time alone with God, just talking and thanking Him for all
He’s done – trusting that He had a plan for why everything worked out as they
did. I soon was shown how God wanted to work this event for His glory - sowing
seeds and watering seeds among other consultants. I had thought His purpose was
just witnessing to customers, so sharing with other consultants hadn’t even occurred
to me! I had a guest ticket that I didn’t get to use for the event, so that
morning I had posted on the event page that I wanted to bless someone with that
ticket. A consultant requested the ticket and when I met her, we talked
and she mentioned she homeschooled – so I of course told her I was
homeschooling my children as well and felt the need to give her my business
card, where I quickly pointed out my blog on the back. She was immediately
excited and said she didn’t know we could do such things, she said she wanted to
share a scripture on her business cards and catalogs as well. I told her that my card was approved
through compliance, so she should have hers done as well! I didn't see her again
after that, but I believe that was the whole purpose of our meeting, allowing
her to know she can share a verse on her cards so she can sow and water seeds also. Next I met two wonderful ladies, whom I was able to share and talk
with over the next 7 hours – I believe I was able to sow seeds with them and it
was on the trip home that God shared with me that He can use anything, even my
Scentsy adventure for His glory.
What does this all have to do with John 3:21 you might ask,
well – everything! God gives us a purpose, He doesn’t change His mind, that
purpose stays the same. God wants me to raise our sons as men of God, He’s
allowing me to show them how to be a witness to others, how to care for others,
and how to walk in the light. Of course, I’ll make mistakes, but I have two
boys watching me – keeping me on my toes, so I’m getting much better at
apologizing when I do make those mistakes because I want them to learn to do
the right thing, even when it’s the last thing you want to do.
Sharing God isn’t about going to church on Sundays, it’s
about living for God 24/7, so when I’m ‘working’, I’m still sharing God. I want
them to know Colossians 3:23 “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you
were working for the Lord rather than for people.” We have a purpose, my purpose isn’t Scentsy,
my purpose is raising our sons – my work is Scentsy, and I’m doing that as if I
was doing it for God and not for me. God is using Scentsy as a vehicle for
sharing His message, He is using it as an example of how God can use ANYTHING
for His glory, and God will bless us when we put Him in all that we do.
