You know when you walk by someone and you feel the need to speak or say is every thing OK ? You know when you can just feel that the person you are passing is in some distress on some drama is going on. Do you speak or keep walking ??? Think about it for a moment. WHAT DO YOU DO ??
One morning I was walking past a man I know as Joe he works at the same place I do. He does not work for the same company just at the same location . As I walked past Joe I just knew that his spirit was down. Something in his life was wrong. The closer I got the more I felt it. As I walked past him we exchanged greetings and kept going. I could not let him pass. I turned and ask....Hey ! is everything OK ?
Joe smiled and said Yep God is good. It was just kinda cold last night. This comment led us into a conversation. Joe is a single father raising a teen aged son on a minimum wage job. Joe comes to work every day and works until he cant work any longer. He is a good Godly man trying to live a good life. He rides a bike several miles to work each day. His son is in the local high school. Joe was living in a very bad crack infested neighborhood. He had to get his son away from the bad hood so he found this small house across town to rent. (SEE THE PHOTO) Still not in a great hood but better. I learned that Joe had no power, Not much food, No heat, and Not much furniture at all. Sleeping on the floor. He was working on it as best he could manage. As we spoke about the situation he was careful to give God praise for allowing him out of where he was.....While he was talking I knew just what needed to be done. I was sure that this was a God directed encounter. He was in need and I knew that we could help him. A God directed appointment indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over the next few weeks things began to happen...folks came into our sight that were looking for someone that was in need. I am sure God sent them and so a team was assembled. Over the next few weeks God allowed us to... Turn on Joe's Heat and power, His son got a ton of new cloths for school, A new refrigerator, A kitchen full of food several times over, furniture for the bed rooms, new linens for both beds, and on and on !!!
Through this team that God assembled for this assignment Joe has been blessed for more than a year and it is still going on. Joe still rides his bike to church every Sunday both morning and afternoon.
Thank you God that you task me with asking this guy I did not even know "is everything OK?" Now Joe is our friend .
I will tell more stories on this ministry assignment as time goes by....But I want to leave you with this...
HAVE YOU FELT IT ? THAT DESIRE TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE OR JUST TO SAY A KIND WORD AS YOU PASS A STRANGER?... DID YOU ANSWER THAT CALL OR LET IT GO BY??? THIS SUNDAY WHILE YOU ARE IN CHURCH LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND RIGHT ARE THOSE FOLKS IN NEED ? DO THEY HURT? ASK GOD TO GIVE YOU THAT DIRECTION AND BOLDNESS TO ASK...........IS EVERYTHING OK???
and so we will go as God directs.
