Come on a journey with me. Specifically, on Sunday, October 15th at around eight thirty in the evening. I was just about to get ready for bed and binge watch “The Walking Dead” until I fell asleep when my bunk mate Corey asked if I wanted to go to the store with him. At first I was pretty hesitant, I’ll be honest, when all of the sudden something inside of me urged me to agree to go. I put on a shirt and a denim button up and headed out the door with Corey as he told me that he himself didn’t know why we were going except for the fact that God told him to go and to ask me. Being a missionary now for a year I am not surprised when God has His people do things that seem random or pointless because by this time I know that He always has a plan for everything He tells us to do. With that being said, I went along with Corey expectant to have God come through in leading us to whatever He had planned.
As we left the YWAM base we passed two groups of fellow YWAMers coming back from the same market place we were headed. This is not uncommon and therefore I didn’t think it very significant. Keeping our pace, we neared Safeway without any clue as to what we’d buy. As we browsed the aisles aimlessly both of us were waiting for God to highlight an individual to share the Gospel with. As time passed, we had gone practically through every aisle of the store without feeling directed to speak to any certain person. We finally agreed to buy chips and a drink, head over to the other store to buy Q-tips and see if God wanted us to preach explicitly to anyone there. As we got our things and waited on the Lord, still, nothing. After going to two stores and not feeling directed to any particular person I figured the reason God had us come out here was at the very least a time for Corey and I to bond.
We started walking back home to our YWAM base Corey spots a man on the other side of the cross walk with a mattress at his feet. Nearing the cross walk this stranger calls out to us asking if we knew where the store was. We did, so we directed him to the marketplace followed by a question of why he was dragging and pushing this mattress down the side walk. By this time, we were face to face with him and he began to inform us that he is homeless and was taking the mattress back to his spot. After a couple minutes of conversing he invites us to have a seat with him on the mattress and talk for bit. Well, a bit became more than “a bit” because we ended up spending over an hour with this gentleman hearing his story and sharing ours and the transforming power of following Jesus. We were able to give him all the food and drink we bought, help him move the mattress to his spot, and give him a couple dollars all while talking about Jesus and his creative, redemptive power. To make a long story short, he wants to turn his life around and is planning on coming to our community night that we have at YWAM on Thursday nights. I really do believe he is serious and that he does want to follow Jesus completely. He just needs some encouragement in the right direction and I’m incredibly excited to see what Jesus does in him.
All this to say that when you feel the Holy Spirit tugging on you to do something you obey. You may not see the reason God has you where you are or doing what you’re doing but stay obedient and don’t stop because sooner or later that divine appointment will happen. When it does, it is the most fulfilling, most rewarding, most energizing feeling to ever experience. There is honestly nothing better than someone’s life being impacted by God through your obedience. I’m not saying that to “toot my own horn” per say, but to encourage you to obey. You have no idea how someone’s life can change by you just saying a simple but bold “Yes” to God’s call on your life.
That’s it guys… Just obey God. It’s so worth it.
Ethan Peterson
SOME Student
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