God is Always at Work Around You (Part 4)

God is Always At Work Around You (Part 4)

I love this story from Marilyn Heavilin that illustrates how God is always at work around us ...

I stepped into the passenger section of the plane, and whispered a prayer to God. “Lord, You know it’s really early. I haven’t even had my coffee yet, so it sure would be nice if my seat mate wanted to sleep, too, and wasn’t very talkative.” I don’t think that prayer went past the ceiling of the plane. Before I sat down, the man in the seat next to mine started chatting. By the time the plane left the ground, I knew he was a Christian, lived in Riverside, California and attended Victoria Community Church. I commented, “I’m speaking at that church soon.”

“What group are you speaking to?” he asked
“The Grief group,” I answered.
“And what do you know about grief?” he asked.
I stated, “Three of my five children have died.”

As I said that, I noticed the tears rolling down his cheeks. So then I commented, “And you have lost a child.”

The man nodded “yes.” He told me that his son had died in a car crash many years before. He also shared that prior to his son’s death the man had been a minister, but had felt he must resign when his wife had an affair and his marriage ended. He returned to the town reluctantly when his son died, and a woman from the community approached him at the cemetery and said, “This is God’s punishment to you!” The man left the town vowing he wanted nothing to do with Christianity or Christians ever again.

He later married again and became financially successful until an employee betrayed the company and my seat mate faced the possibility of losing everything. One night as he lay in bed, he was concerned over the stress all of his problems were putting on his wife. He found himself praying for the first time in many years.

“Lord, how can I help my wife?”
The Lord made it clear, “What she needs is to know Jesus as her Savior.”
The man continued by saying, “That night I led my wife to Jesus. Then she wanted to go to church! She found a church she thought I would like. After much coercion, I went to church with her. The people were really nice. They helped us find good financial advice. We are not wealthy any longer, but we’re doing OK.”
Then he shared, “We’ve been doing OK, but recently I have felt out of touch with God. This morning I prayed, ‘Lord, would you please put some one in my way this week who could encourage me?’” He looked at me and exclaimed, “I think you’re it!”

I tried to protest, but he said, “When I got here today, because I fly so much, the ticket agent moved me up to First Class from 9A. See God moved me up so that I could talk with you!”

Then I said, “Do you want to know the rest of the story? Before I moved up to First Class, I was sitting in 9B!” -- Marilyn Heavilin is a speaker, author, and serves with her husband, Glen, as a summer volunteer at America's KESWICK

Pretty cool, huh?

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 23;

Great Quote: What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new
organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit
can use -- men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not
flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery,
but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men -- men of prayer.Edward McKendree (E. M.) Bounds