God, in His infinite mercy, has determined that I am a worthy vessel for Him to use to draw people to Himself through Jesus. Often, when I travel on airplanes, at work in the office, on a subway or just about anywhere, He will orchestrate a conversation between me and someone who needs to know Jesus. I am honored that He is willing to use me after the very stormy early adult life I lived.

I used to keep these supernatural encounters a secret because I did not want to be seen as prideful. Jesus said, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them … “ and “when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do …” (Matthew 6:1-5). At the time, I had a prideful heart and needed to heed these verses.

As the Holy Spirit changed my prideful heart, my motivations changed and I wanted to see God get the glory for what He did through me. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” This seems to contradict Matthew 6:1-5, but it does not.

When your heart tends to be prideful, you need to be very careful not to practice your righteous deeds so that others can see them. When your heart is in this state, their complements will go to your head and you will take the glory yourself rather than give it to God.

When your heart is in the right place, Jesus wants you to let your good deeds shine so others can see them and you can give glory to God for them. Jesus goes further and says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).”

When my heart was humbled and God started using me regularly to share the Good News, Gary Pauley, the pastor of the church I attended, encouraged me to share those stories to give glory to God and to encourage others to be open to God’s promptings to be the light of the world and let others see Jesus through them.

Where is your heart right now? If God were to use you in a way that glorifies Him, would you be more likely to accept the glory for yourself? Or, would you give it all to Him. He wants your heart to be humbled so He can use you to shine the light for all to see.

1. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you about this directive?

2. What are you going to do about it?

3. Who are you going to tell?