Jury Duty

The Jury Summons came sometime in late April.  It has been quite a while since I have received one, and my children are now old enough that I can no longer claim them as the “exemption” for needing full time, at home care.

I had logged on to the website with my given juror ID and password and was assigned a future date during the summer.  As is standard, the day before I anxiously awaited the clock to strike 6:01 P.M. so that I could call the recorded line to hear if I needed to report the next morning. 

Ugh!  I hate to say it, but that was my honest exclamation, and I did not want the recording to tell me that, “All jurors are to arrive at the County Court House at 8:30 A.M.” 

Take a moment, Lisa.  Perspective.

“You will guard me and keep me in perfect and constant peace when my mind is stayed on You, because I commit myself to You, lean on You and hope confidently in You.”

Isaiah 26:3

I had just finished my week in a new Bible study about Abram (later to be re-named Abraham) and the call on his life from God to “Go”.

My sweet friends and I were going to meet that night to discuss the first week’s lesson and I had to admit that I was late in getting my days underway.  They did ask, inquire and request suggestions of what we wanted to study this summer, but as usual, I kept silent and didn’t vote.  When I got my book, it just didn’t grab my attention and so, I just let is set on my desk and, well…… set.

Then, out of obligation, I began.

Genesis 12:1 – 5

The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you.  I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,


But I will curse those who curse you.


And through you I will bless all the nations.”

Then, I began to find out why God had this study picked out JUST for ME and JUST for NOW!

He is so amazing and makes me laugh sometimes.  The God of Heaven and Earth knew exactly what I would be going through today and that I would put off this lesson for 3 days and that I needed it today, even in my delay.  Ha!  His Grace is definitely sufficient for ME!

Well, anyway, I began to read, as I had studied about Abraham before that God simply asked him to pick up and “Go”, but did not tell him where.  The study tells him to leave his home (called Ur) and his “usual routine.”. 

That stopped me in my tracks.  I had just quit my job with a “call on my life” from God to slow down, take time to worship, study and listen to Him;  to seek and inquire of Him; and to write and pursue women’s ministry.  God has asked me to “Go” from my “usual routine” but He has not told me where…. Yet!

Comfort.  God using the ordinary and flawed people to follow Him and carry out His will.  Yes, Lord.  Those are the only two words I can put together.

Not only had God asked Abram to, “Go”, but He had promised to “bless” him and make him a great nation.  But, as Abram traveled with his wife, Sarai (later Sara), they came to Egypt where Abram feared for their safety.  So he schemed a plan and told Sarai that he would pass her off as his sister, because of her great beauty.  For his concern was that she would be taken from him, and that he would be killed.

Fear had taken over.  Most likely, the promises of God were still so new to him that they had not sunk deeply into Abram’s heart.  His many years of self reliance kicked in and gave way to his plan.

Unfortunately, his plan was a failure and the Pharaoh took Sarai as his own.  Not until God sent diseases to plague the kingdom of Egypt, did Pharaoh become enraged and give her back to Abram and set them free.

If only Abram had trusted God.  “I will bless you,” He had said.

Jury Duty.  I know, it’s not Egypt!  There is no possible loss of life for me.

But, there is death:  the death of my plans for the week; the death of my thoughts trapped in a courtroom of negative manipulation; the death of my free will and my time.

Rest assured, I have been given multiple suggestions on “how to avoid jury duty”, all by well meaning friends and family. 

One even mentioned the option of just not attending.  Evidently, they don’t have enough time or manpower to track down the offenders who violate this.  Another stated that I should be extremely opinionated and raise my hand and object every question and or situation that arises.  And still others directed me to websites listing multiple options "out".

And then God rested heavily on my heart and told me that I needed to simply trust Him.  That He was the sovereign God who created and owned all things…..  including my time.  How much do I trust Him?  This was my opportunity, in the small and simple choices to demonstrate to Him that I put myself in His hands. I need to show honor to the responsibilities of this life and to God.

I trust You Lord:  with my plans for this week; with my thoughts; with my free will and my time.

And so, I got up early, followed my typical routine at the gym and, after getting ready for the day, headed off to the courthouse.   For the entire 20-minute drive, I quieted my heart, praying out loud, alone in my car.  I asked Him to fill me with His peace, His Spirit and give me the correct attitude.  I prayed that if I was faced with questions, that I would give answers that I would not regret or feel were less than truthful or forced.

I had even packed a tote bag with extra things to read and work on, as I heard it could be a long day of sitting and waiting.

At 8:30 the roll call began and we filed into the small courtroom.  It certainly wasn’t alphabetical, but they did call me near the end.  We filled out our paperwork and then took a 20 minute break; for what I’m not certain.

Upon the next roll call, the names began again, but this time, after the first 26 names, she suddenly stopped!

The door to the courtroom closed.  The clerk looked up from her list, and began, “The attorneys have decided to only accept 26 jurors for today.  If I call your last name, you are free to go….”

Praise God!  He was faithful!  I was FREE to Go!

And if He had not released me from this Jury Duty, I had a peaceful and calm heart ready to serve. 

He had humbled me and let me learn a lesson through Abram and Sarai from so many generations ago.

What a great God we serve when we are humble and believe that He is our God and He will fulfill His promises to bless us.

But, I must keep in mind all that God had told Abram, for it also applies to us,

“I will bless you …, so that you will be a blessing.”

I am certainly not seeking fame, nor am asking for God to make me famous as was the middle of this verse.   Abram was later named Abraham for his faith and God rewarded him and kept His promises of generations.  Many referred to the one we call God as “The God of Abraham” since there were people of that time that worshiped many gods.  That is the fame that omitted from this verse.

However, I do not want to miss the second command of this verse.  God blessed me today, in many ways.

What I need to do is to bless others.  I now need to BE A BLESSING.

God does not just want to bless us because He loves us.  He wants us to pass it along and share His blessings.

STOP.  BREATHE and take that in!

God wants to bless you to BE A BLESSING.

I’m heading out to share….  He told me to Go!

What will you do with your blessings today?  Have you counted them?

Now share.