Typo Or Not
I type a lot of emails during my work day. Some go to external customers and some internal. Some I originate and many others are replies. The platform we use allows for signatures in various formats, fonts and colors to be saved for easy use. I have ones like:
- Thank you,
- Have a Great Day!
- Please let me know if you have any questions,
- Have a Wonderful weekend!
And so on…you get the picture. I figure, why type it myself if I can just select my words from a drop down?
The other day however, I found myself needing to type the signature instead of selecting one. At first glance I thought “typo” when I reviewed by work. My intent was to type, “Have a Good Day!” and instead I saw this: “Have a God Day!”. I chuckled to myself and went back to correct the phrase. Then I paused…
Why don’t I tell other to have a God day? What better kind of day could they have?
It occurred to me also that a pang of fear had swept over me at the thought of sending the signature as I had inadvertently typed it.
- What would the receiver of the message think?
- Was I overstepping?
- Would someone be offended?
- Was there something else I was afraid of or ashamed of?
I thought my typo was an accident but maybe it wasn’t that at all. Maybe it was God stopping me and making me think. Think about Him. Think about me.
“If anyone is ashamed of Me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38
These are the words of Jesus. Ouch. That stings.
This is hard to admit but if I am honest, the fear I had was really shame. That’s why this verse stings so much. God knew that would be my reaction and it was no accident that what I typed that day was “God”. He was calling me out. He was pointing out an area of my life that I am needing to address. An area of sin I still have yet to overcome.
I have not yet changed my signature options. I am still hesitating. Fortunately God’s patient and forgiving but I also am to be an obedient child and follow Him. I am to have no fear in telling the world, including people I work with, that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.
I am to be like the Psalmist:
“I will speak to kings about your laws, and I will not be ashamed.” Psalm 119:46
I am to follow Jesus’s instructions to His disciples and all His followers:
“And then He told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15
There are so many reasons God tell us to do this. Ultimately God knows what is best for us and His Kingdom. He makes this promise to us in Jeremiah 29:11:
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
Have a God Day!
JW