Look Here—Now!

Three words. Each letter stood about ten feet tall on a highway billboard as we sped along on our way to church. And in the split second I happened to look up and see the words, I knew they were meant precisely for me. It was no accident that I looked up at that moment. God had been listening to my internal ruminations about a nagging problem.

A problem I had been picking the scab off whenever one began to form and bring healing to my attitude. And now it was festering. So God, who knew where the billboard was and how soon we would be passing it, directed my eyes just in time to see those punch-to-the-gut words flash by: Let it go. Whoa! Someone was speaking to me.

Those words were definitely being used by Someone to counsel a needy passenger in the car speeding down the road. The whooshed-by message put a screeching halt to my inner grumblings and poor-me mental gymnastics. Since that day, that one short command has served as a frequent reminder of when God gave me the gift of letting go of what was slowly but surely poisoning me from within. And God has popped those words into my mind at other times, easing me over the wailing wall of woe is me. God uses whatever works to get our attention. Whether it is a still, small Voice or a huge highway sign, He tailors His attention-getting methods to our specific needs. Sometimes it is immediate, and sometimes it happens over a period of years. Our loving Father is constantly reaching out to each one of us on this planet.

In one of my favorite Bible verses, we are told that Jesus, who is the true Light, is He who “lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9, KJV).

Did you catch that astounding revelation? What a magnificent truth to absorb: every person who has ever been born on this planet, in some way that we do not exactly comprehend, has been and continues to be reached, or lit, literally by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So, if you feel alone or forgotten, depressed or unworthy, lift up your eyes and remember that the God who is love (1 John 4:8, KJV) is the same God who has your name graven on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16, KJV). Whatever is holding you back, let it go!

Christine B. Nelson