August 1, 2014. The day after my arrival back to the States. I was in the middle of Times Square in New York City when a man selling tourist packages approached our group. As he began to give his speech something started to stir up in me. “Oh no!” I thought. “I know this feeling. God has something to say to him.” Tell him about me. The Holy Spirit spoke to me. At that very moment, he turned over a pamphlet and said “you can have all of this for just $54!” Give him $54. “What? Are you crazy?! I don’t have $54 to give this guy.” I went on to explain to God just how little I had in my bank account and how I was support raising my own salary. I came up with every excuse I could think of to not give the money. Don’t even get me started on all the reasons I gave for not telling this man about Jesus. I mean, I was in the U.S.! In the middle of Times Square! “LORD. I know I look like a missionary right now [I was wearing a long skirt and a modest top], but this is completely different. I thought the World Race was over!” We politely told the man no thanks to the package, wished him a good day, and I told God no and walked away.
The weight of my choice came upon me immediately. It was crushing. What did I just do? I just told God no. I just denied a man the chance to experience the love of Jesus. I just put my trust in my bank account and understanding instead of my Creator who has proven faithful in every way. I just allowed my fear of rejection and public humiliation override my compassion and desire to further the Kingdom of God. Much of what God taught me over the past year was being put to the test. The realization that I so quickly bowed under pressure was too much to handle. This God who loves me so dearly just invited me to be a part of His work in a person’s life and I told Him no.
I knew I needed to find this man. My integrity, hope, and faith rested on it. So, to hold me accountable I told one of my friends what I sensed God telling me. She responded “why didn’t you do it?” “umm..because I’m nervous. I don’t know how he’ll respond.” “Who cares! God told you to do something, you need to do it!” She was right.
As I walked through the crowd I immediately saw him. His eyes lit up and a big smile came across his face as he thought he was about to sell a package. Instead, I began to ask him questions about his life and dreams. He surprisingly opened up fairly easily as if he was just waiting for someone to care enough to ask and really listen. I then shared a little bit about myself. After a little while, I told him “I am a follower of Jesus and while you were talking about the package, God revealed his deep love for you. Have you heard of Jesus?” “Yes. My mother tells me all about him.” “Okay. Well Jesus sent me to tell you that he never forgot about you and that he’s waiting for you. He continues to pursue you and this is one way he is reaching out to you. It’s not about what you do, you just have to believe. He just wants a relationship with you.” And then, it happened. I cried. Not a shy, small cry. Tears came down like waterfalls right in the middle of Times Square! “oh no! why are you crying?” he asked. I honestly replied, “I don’t know. I’m just so nervous.” He chuckled. “Why are you nervous?” “Because I’m in the U.S. and people don’t like when you tell them about Jesus.” I then began to laugh at how silly I probably looked and sounded to passerbys and him. “Well, I’m glad you have the courage you do because I really needed to hear that today.” Wow! I thought. “Well I’m not finished. I want to give you $54. That’s the cost of the tour right?” “What?! You want to give me what?!” As he stood astonished, I proceeded to tell him that God wanted to bless him and let him know that he cares about every detail of his life and wants to provide for his needs. For about a minute our conversation went back and forth like this: Him: “but, are you sure?” Me: “yes, take it.” “But why would you just give me $54? People don’t do things like this. Do you see where you are? You’re in the middle of Times Square!” I chuckled as I knew quite well where I was. That very thing almost stopped this conversation from happening. “Well, God loves you and I love you and I want to bless you.” Gratefully he took the money. We talked a little bit longer and then we parted ways.
A little bit later I walked through that area and he yelled once again across the street, “but, are you sure? I’ll give it back to you.” “It’s yours!” I yelled. “Jesus loves you!”
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