Tabitha Who?

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." I Corinthians 12:27

"With all your talent and potential, you're gonna do great things for God one day!" I heard this repeatedly as I was growing up. My competitive/achiever nature often caused me to stand out among my peers, and there was always another award to add to my list of accomplishments. I had big goals and high hopes for my future. That all changed when I became The Sick Girl.

Now my biggest achievements are having the strength to fold last week's laundry, empty the dishwasher for the first time in 3 days, or mop the kitchen floor for only the second time in four months (no, I'm not kidding!). My current successes would be considered failures by most. I may not even see another human being, besides my husband, for a week at a time. How then can I ever expect to do these "great things for God?"

God spoke to me recently through Sheila Walsh's new book. She talks about the story of Tabitha in Acts 9:36-42. If you're wondering, "Tabitha who?" it's because those 7 verses are the only mention of her in the Bible. She never did anything amazing that would stick out in our minds, and we certainly don't think of her when we name the great characters of the Bible. Yet, when she died, the Christians in her home town were devastated. They went so far as to send two men to track down Peter and ask him to come back right away. When Peter returned and found all the widows standing around grieving, he raised her from the dead through the power of Christ!

Why her? She wasn't an apostle or a prominent leader in the church. All she did was sew clothes for the poor. Verse 36 describes her as "always doing good and helping the poor." That's nice, but it's not a great work of God. Or is it? Maybe the things we consider important and worthy of notice are not quite as important to God. That's an epiphany for me! My religious background was always about what I was doing to serve the Lord. It was about being at the church "every time the doors are open," going on weekly visitation, and singing solos before the entire congregation - all things I'm not physically able to do anymore. Does that mean I've missed my chance to fulfill God's purpose for my life? The Enemy would like for me to think so!

But the Bible tells me that God has a purpose for me and a place in the body of Christ where I can serve. These days that may not be a high-profile position in my church or community. Maybe it's being an encourager to others also dealing with chronic illness by praying for them, saying an uplifting word on Facebook, being honest about my struggles through this blog, or making a Prayer Shawl for them in my church's knitting ministry (kind of like Tabitha was doing in her church!).

But let's not miss the end of Tabitha's story. Verse 42 tells us that the story of her resurrection "became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord." Because she became sick and died, Jesus Christ received glory, and many precious souls were saved. What a testimony! Isn't that what all believers are called to do with our time on Earth?

Dear Lord, help me to remember that You have a purpose for my life every single day. Even though I may not feel like an important contributor to Your work, I will trust that you will use my humble offering - right here where I am - to glorify Your name and cause others to believe in You.