Today has been a day full of answered prayer. I began my day by praying that the Holy Spirit would be moving me the way He wished…That I would not ignore the things God asked of me and that I would be willing to do whatever it is . Whenever I think of a prayer like this, I expect that I will be the one having to initiate conversations that will not go well, that my day will be stressful, or that I will fail because no opportunities arise. To my surprise, I have learned that God does not work that way.
There is an illustration by Ron Dunn where he speaks about a faucet that feels like it has failed since no one has used it. Ron Dunn explains that just because the faucet was not being used, does not mean that it has failed. The faucet’s job is to be ready when someone needs water and chooses to get its water from that specific faucet. Not to be used by everyone, every day…This is often how we view our own lives, as well. How many times do we feel like failures when someone does not accept Christ after we have talked to them? How many times do you feel like a failure when you have not done something “extraordinary?” We are the faucet. Our job is to be willing and available to do what our Father asks when He asks it. We are not failing when He choosing to use another means to bring Himself glory. We simply need to be waiting and ready for when He does.
This does not, however, mean we ignore what He has already asked us. Everyone has heard the famous Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19 and 20) and the Great Commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37b-39). Our job is to love and share the Gospel whether we see fruit or not. We need to be obedient and trust that God is working.
Back to today…I prayed this prayer to God and, honestly, did not expect anything extraordinary to happen. God surprised me, of course. After leaving a local coffee shop I thanked an older gentleman for holding the door for me and our conversation ended with talking about Jesus and the World Race. God worked even when I least expected Him to. I was not trying to have a spiritual conversation with this man. I was merely trying to thank him for holding the door, but God had other plans. He used me because I was willing. I didn’t need a cunning plan to sneak in Jesus’ name, or to pin him down to listen. I merely had to be polite in a loving way (which is something not natural to me) for God to work Jesus in our conversation in a casual and beautiful way.
As far as I know, this man did not accept Jesus into his heart today. He may forget about our interaction all together, but he may also remember it years from now and choose to ask someone more questions about the hope of Jesus. I don’t know the end of this man’s story. But I DO know that God is pleased that I was obedient to Him and is nowhere close to being done with me.
