Many years ago, when I first started my walk with God, I was shopping. I hadn’t been a Christian long and I thought I heard God say ‘speak to that young man.’ There was a lad cleaning scuff marks off the walls outside the supermarket in Tahmoor. I’d never heard God speak and I remember thinking; I can’t talk to this boy. I don’t know him and I wouldn’t know what to say. I got what I came for and he was still there, still cleaning when I left. I thought it was my imagination and then God said; “Speak to him.” It was a louder, more insistent voice.
“Oh, well, perhaps if he looks at me…”
The boy glanced my way but I wasn’t sure that he ‘looked at me.’ So, I got in the car and drove out of the lot when I heard a very insistent; “SPEAK TO THAT BOY!”
I drove around the block, came back and parked the car once more saying to God, “You’d better give me something to say if I’m going to do this for you.”
I walked up to the lad (16 years old or so) with no idea what I was going to say and blurted out; “I don’t know if you’re happy in your job, but if you’re not, go the library and borrow anything you can on positive thinking. It’ll change your life, I promise.”
The boy’s whole demeaner changed and he gave me a big smile and said thank you so much.
I walked back to the car and put my hand on the door handle and I heard the Lord say; “That boy was going to commit suicide.”
In that moment I knew, if I hadn’t spoken to that young man, God would never have revealed this final piece of information. People don’t want to commit suicide. They feel they have no other option.
Someone later said you can’t say that to a person. That’s not honouring God. I said; Yes, I can. I came to God because He spoke to me through these kinds of books and He can do the same for this fellow.
God asked me one day, what all these books have in common and I answered; a belief in a higher power, a creator, God. That’s when I became born again and I didn’t have the wisdom to convey that to the young man, so I gave him what I had (just as Peter did to the lame man – silver and gold have I none but such as I have I give thee) and I expected God to do the rest.
The reason I’m telling you this is because, the other day I was prompted by the Lord to give a church donation larger than normal and I did that on Sunday. I marked on an envelope where the money was to go, in what part of the ministry I’d been led to support. It was a big step on my small income. I dropped it in the collection box. I didn’t tell anyone. It was between me and God.
I sat back down in my seat. Just as the Lord made mention after the fact that the boy was going to commit suicide, this too, after I’d drooped the money and sat down, I heard the Lord say; “There’s someone who needed to go to this school and couldn’t except you brought in the resource. This person is going to make a huge impact in My name.”
On both counts, if I hadn’t been obedient to the Lord, I don’t think the Lord would have said anything towards the difference I’d made or not made. He wouldn’t burden me with the negative outcomes. He wouldn’t have jumped down my throat for not following His word, but He did let me know of the positive outcome of my actions in each of these events.
Then, right at the end of the service, the speaker said; “I have a word here for someone: God has broken the chains that have held you stuck in place. Shake those chains free. Shake your hands and feet and let those chains fall to the floor.” I couldn’t help but wonder if that wasn’t for me, as I’d given a large donation and perhaps now have broken the spirit of lack that has been plaguing my life, in spite of being a diligent giver all these years.
The Lord repay your work, and a full reward given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. Ruth 2:12 (My bible study that day.)
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