Immediate obedience
During my team’s ATL, ask the Lord, Josie and I were walking to a local grocery store to pick up some food for the weekend. We were having a pretty serious conversation when we walked by a man who was grumbling, almost groaning. We took a couple of steps past him and both of stopped in our steps when we heard him groaning again. It was obvious that this man was being tormented by demons, and the Lord wanted us to hear him over the loud city of Antigua. We both knew we had to go talk to him, so we turned around and started walking towards him. We stopped for a second and decided it would be best if we got him a snack and drink from the store first.
We took about ten minutes in the store before we started to head back towards him. While I was waiting in the exit of the store for Josie to finish checking out, I heard the Lord, clear as day say “the enemy made him move.” I prayed that it was not true and that we would find him where he was sitting, but it was true. The enemy made him move and Josie and I were not able to share the gospel with him liked we planned on.
We were devastated by this missed opportunity. We searched all around Antigua, all day in hopes that we would find him again.
The Lord reminded me that immediate obedience is the only option. Though our intention was to be right back and to get him some food and share the gospel with him, that is not what the Lord asked of us. The Lord asked us to talk and pray with him in that exact moment that He stopped us in our tracks. Though our intentions were pure and honest it was not the best way for this situation. The best thing for us to have done in that situation was obey God immediately and pray for the man before getting him food, but we decided in that moment our strategy to get him food first was better.
The Lord taught us a lot in that moment about disobedience and its consequences. We took some time to repent to the Lord for disobeying His immediate request, and the Lord truly redeemed that missed gospel sharing moment. Later that day we had many opportunities to share the gospel with others and we even got lunch with someone and share the gospel with him and hear his story.
Though the Lord redeemed that situation, it was definitely a moment to learn. It was a moment to understand there is a reason the Lord stops us in our tracks sometimes. This experience gave me a new perspective on the severity of spreading the gospel. I am not sure if that man would have given his life to Christ that day, but I do know that the Lord is faithful and He is chasing after that man.
For now, we learn from our missteps and we grow. We learn to have more confidence in Christ. We learn that we don’t need an offering to share the gospel with someone, we just need the Spirit. Jesus is enough. Jesus is so much more than the bread, fruit, and water we can buy for someone. Jesus is more than our works. Jesus IS enough.
Josie and I!
Oooo, this was soooo good! Sometimes, the lessons most deeply impressed upon us are those we learned the hard way! I’m glad you haven’t beaten yourselves up over this (what Satan would want you to do), but instead used it become more hypersensitive and obedient to the Lord’s prompting. That’s fabulous! God will provide someone else to care for that man. And God gives us grace when we miss the mark.