While I Costa Rica one day, myself along with my good friend Michael James and my former squad mate Teresa were going to go evangelizing for a few hours. While praying I felt as though the Lord spoke to me and told me we needed to go to this coffee shop called Brit Cafe and look for someone wearing black Nike shorts. I asked God what he may have wanted me to say and I felt as though he told me you will know what to say when the time comes.
I informed Michael and Teresa what I sensed the Lord putting on my heart and so from there we made our way to the coffee shop. Upon getting there, Teresa stops at the door looks back at me and says “Dylan you are not going to believe who is in this coffee shop.” As I make my way up the stairs and look through the glass doors I was in shock. There sitting at a table by himself was an older man wearing short black Nike shorts and a tank top. I also want to add that he was and is the only person other than the staff in this coffee shop.
As we make our way inside the three of us walk up to him and Teresa begins speaking with the man and introducing us to him. The man looks up and says He is about to be in the middle of a business meeting and to basically leave him alone. We asked if we could wait FOR him to finish and he says he is going to be a while but he did not want us sitting with him. So what do we do? We sit at the Table right next to him of course. I soon begin praying very nervously asking God what he may want to speak through me to him, and as I as praying the man gets up to go pay for his meal and Teresa and Michael urge me that now is the time.
You know that song that goes: “his palms are sweating knees weak arms are heavy, there’s vomit on his sweater moms spaghetti… so forth and so forth”?? Yeah totally my insides at that moment. I walk right up to the guy and begin telling him that I did not know him but I felt encouraged by the Lord to share…. and as I started to say that, without looking at me, he turns and starts speed walking out the door. So I do what some people do in that situation, I speed walk right next to him and follow him out the door still talking. “you need to know that you need to know that you are seen and whatever hardship is going on in your life right now is not to big or hard for God, he has you and the situation.
Mind you, the guy is walking even faster ignoring me, but then he stops at his bike looks at me and with the cockiest smirk I have ever seen says :”you have no freaking idea who you are talking too.” insert sweat dripping down my face taking a look at the ground and timidly saying yes sir you are right I don’t. He then goes on and smiles and says “keep doing good man”. Um what??!! Totally not expecting that, so on that note I turned around and speed walked my happy self back inside the coffee shop and sat back down next to Teresa and Michael. They both had awe and shocked faces, as they asked me what happened.
After telling them they smiled and Teresa encouraged me that she saw beautiful obedience regardless of the outcome. The fact that I would follow this man as he ignored me to tell him what the Holy Spirit put on my heart was literally Jesus. I never knew the guys name or what he did or anything. But what I do know is that following Jesus means going out of comfort for not just his name sake, but out of love for the person he pressed on your heart to minister to regardless of the outcome. Yall Jesus himself went to those who rejected him because he loves them so much and wanted them to receive love and truth. Of we are called to be like Jesus, then doing something out of my comfort zone on account of his name and love is worth it.
