There’s a story told of a grandfather who was walking through his yard when he heard his granddaughter repeating the alphabet in a tone of voice that sounded like a prayer. He gently approached his granddaughter and asked, “Whatcha doing?”
The little girl looked up and innocently said, “I’m praying, but I can’t think of exactly the right words, so I’m just saying all the letters, and God will put them together for me, because He knows what I’m thinking.”
I love that story because it reminds us of the simplicity and beauty of faith. When we don’t have the right words or even letters, God fills in the blanks and puts everything together perfectly—because He knows us so intimately.
As followers of Jesus, we don’t just have the opportunity to offer our letters and words up to God in prayer—we get to offer ourselves! Like the story of the young girl, we may find ourselves wondering, “God, what does this spell?”
You may not realize that in just being yourself, you are spelling words like “redemption,” “grace,” “beauty,” and “hope” to the world around you.
Throughout the Bible, we read of people who glorified God with their lives. They spelled out different words and ideas and imagery for us by simply being who they were called to be.
In studying the life of Abraham we get a living example of faithfulness. David reveals what it looks like to worship with abandon. Ruth gives us insight into loyalty. And James teaches us to live wholeheartedly for Christ. By simply being themselves, each of these men and women glorified God and left a rich legacy behind them.
At times, all of us may wonder exactly how God wants to use us. If we just offer ourselves to Him, God will take what feels like random letters and spell beautiful words through each of us.
Just by being yourself, you reflect God’s beautiful design.