A Word from God

On Wednesday nights, I work a part-time security job at Calvary Church. I've been working there for almost a year now and have met quite a few wonderful people.

Last Wednesday night, one of their newest staff-members (I don't even know his name) was giving a brief word to the congregation before offering a prayer. I usually don't get to hear what’s going on inside the worship center, as I am busy with other tasks. On this particular occasion, however, I felt a tug on my heart to stop and listen. As I listened, this gentleman began to tell the story of Jesus and his disciples in the boat (Luke 8:22-25). This is a familiar story to most of us, but as he spoke about it, for some reason, the story began to come alive for me. As he recounted the fear and apprehension of the disciples during the storm, I realized why God wanted me to hear this message. The gentleman went on to discuss Jesus' response to the disciples; "Where is your faith?" Wow...for some reason, this really struck me. “Why don’t you just trust me?!”

With great enthusiasm and awe, I contemplated this message for the rest of the service. You see, Karen and I are enduring quite a storm of our own right now. Between the stresses of her illness, finances, my job, her job and a myriad of other issues we're dealing with right now, we both are on the verge of being at our wits' end. This simple, but familiar passage was the perfect word for us both.

It didn’t end there, though. As if to drive his point home, God had another message for us both. As I was watching the congregation file out, a familiar face began to pass by. I've never had a conversation with this woman before, but have exchanged greetings with her on numerous occasions. She smiled and waved as she approached. I smiled and nodded back at her, but just as she was about to pass by, she abruptly stopped and turned toward me. It was obvious she had no inclination to talk to me until that very instant. As she approached, she asked "May I share a word with you?" “Of course”, I said, and she began sharing a story with me about a trip she had taken to Lubbock.

She had several friends in the car with her and they were enjoying their conversation so much, that before they realized it, they had passed through and driven 70 miles past their destination. She immediately turned around and headed back toward Lubbock. Apparently, in her panic to get back on time, she began driving a bit faster than she realized. As she looked back in her rearview mirror, she noticed the fast-approaching red and blues of a State Trooper. Several minutes later, she found herself standing on the side of the highway begging for mercy. She was not in a position, financially, to pay a traffic ticket. Her pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as she ultimately received a citation. As she took her ticket and pulled back onto the road, she began to worry about how she could possibly come up with the funds needed to pay the ticket.

She eventually finished her business and returned home, but the worry followed her. When the summons came in the mail, she decided to call the court. She was doubtful that it would help, but thought she would try to plea with them once more. Imagine her shock when the judge herself answered the phone. They had a very brief conversation in which the judge suggested to her the possibility of working the ticket off via community service. She even went so far as to suggest that she donate her time to her church to satisfy the community service requirements.

What a blessing! She ended up donating her time, through Calvary Church, at a nursing home. She said she spent eight hours playing games, reading books and singing to residents of the home. She said that she had so much fun that she is now a full-time volunteer at the nursing home and couldn't be happier.

She said, "I don't know why, but I just know that's a message you needed to hear this week; That God's ways are often strange, but they are always working in your favor!" I told her that she couldn't imagine how incredibly perfect that word was for me at that moment and she replied "Oh yes I do!" With that, she turned and walked away.

And, finally, just to make sure we didn’t miss what he had to say, God finished his word to us with a message from our pastor this Sunday. Pastor David was scheduled to continue a series he had begun several weeks prior entitled “Rediscovering Jesus”. Instead, when he awoke Sunday morning, God told him he needed to change his message. The theme of his new message…….”God is for us and with us in our storms!” How weird is that! Instead of butchering such a wonderful message by paraphrasing it here, I’ll post a link to it when it becomes available.

For those of you that wonder what it means to “hear from God”, this is it. At least for me. These type of things have been happening more and more often to both Karen and I and I can’t even begin to tell you how cool it is! Our God is an awesome God!!!

Do you remember a time when God has spoken to you? I would love to hear your story. Please post your experiences in the comments section.