You know those moments when God had His hand in your life. Those moments that will stay in your heart forever? Well, I have one of those moments that I want to share with my brothers and sisters here, and I hope you all will join in spreading just a bit of light with one another by sharing moments when God touched your heart.
My special moment is when I went out in faith and trusted that God would provide. This is going to be a long one so brace yourself brothers and sisters.
I lived in Texas at the time, and I felt the Lord calling me to Cali. I was only 18 at the time and I knew for certain God was calling me to Cali for the Lord's work. Previously I was working as a Phlebodomist at a plasma donation center getting paid 11.60 an hour and got promoted to a designated trainer after 6 months working there (I had no previous experience with being a Phleb). Needless to say I had a good job and was moving up in the corporate ladder. Materially I was fully taken care of. Spiritually, I felt like I was dying. I was at a low point in my life and I didn't know what to do. I was getting into all type of immoral acts (drugs, sex, partying, etc.) and I seared my conscious to God's voice.
It was around this time that I started searching for a more deeper relationship with God, and that is when I felt led to read the Bible (specifically the four gospels). I remember telling God to reveal the truth to me and whatever it is he wanted me to do, I was going to do it. No matter how difficult it may be. For all those who's done something similar, you know what happens next. God revealed what he wanted me to do. He gave me 3 verses.
Luke 14:33, " So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Matthew 6:24, " No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 28:19-20, "
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
I was awe struck by the task that was at hand. Jesus was telling me to leave everything I had, quit my job, and go into all the world preaching the gospel. I didn't have faith to do that. I started to haggle with God. I was trying all that I can to not believe the words that Jesus spoke because I didn't want to do what he asked of me. I wanted to continue to do my own thing. But then... God dealt with me in a way that I will never forget.
To fully understand you have to meet a 15 year old named Ivan. My younger sister and he were friends in the same High school. He would come over and hang out with her for time-to-time and we had friendly interactions together. I learned that he was an atheist and very depressed. I started to witness to Ivan and try to show him that God loves him and wants to help him through the tough time he was going through. He mentioned that our conversations were helping him get over his depression and come to find God in his life. He was still very depressed, however. He tended to gain strength after our conversation, but then slip right back into his depression once he went back home and school.
Thursday night rolls around and I get a message from Ivan at 11pm just saying "Hi". I knew he must have been going through a tough time for him to be messaging me so late. At this time I was already in bed, tired, and had to get up and the next morning at 6am. I told myself I would message him after work tomorrow. I was working 16hr shifts so I would be very tired after work and wanted to have time to myself. Also, it was during this time I was contemplating whether or not I should listen to Jesus' words and go to Cali as I felt that is where he was wanting me to preach.
Work the next day comes and goes, and I am in the backyard of my house asking a couple of church buddies when should I listen to what I believe Jesus is telling me to do and leave it all. As these words come out of my mouth, my younger sister walked outside. She tells me she has bad news about Ivan. She said he committed suicide that morning..
My soul was crushed. How could I haggle with God so much that he needed to do something as serious as this to get my attention. That is when I realized I had to do what Jesus has been telling me to do ASAP. If I would have listened to Jesus one day earlier and quit my job, then there wouldn't have been anything stopping me from going over and helping Ivan that night. The thought of "I need to rest for work tomorrow" wouldn't have been a factor. Rather I would have thought "this child needs Jesus, and that is what I am here to do. My job is to do the Lord's work"
I can appreciate how one can get very condemned about this happening to them, so I thank anybody who has that concern for me as they read this. I have resolved this issue with God and me. So, no worries on that point.
Hang in there... I am getting to that special moment pretty soon.
Fast forward to me in my 2001 Honda civic with 80$ in my pocket and some clothes in my back seat driving down the I 20 heading to Cali. I didn't want to haggle with God anymore. I wanted to put my full trust in him and do it his way; not mine. After I reached the pan handle of Texas, close to the Oklahoma border, my engine blew. I wasn't mechanically savvy, so I had NO idea what to do at this point. At this moment I was at a crossroads. I could call my mom to come and pick me up and take me back to the comfort of my house, or I trust God and continue making my way to Cali having faith that if God wants me to be there, then he will provide a way. I carried what I could on my back and continued West.
Bare with me the moment is coming.
While I was hitchhiking down the highway, I felt convicted that I wasn't preaching to the house that was passing me by. I hopped on the highway and started to knock on people's doors to see if they want to hear the good news about Jesus. The first house was in the outback of Texas so it took a lot of walking to finally reach it. An older lady in a robe answered the door. I asked her if she wanted to talk about Jesus (or something to that effect) and she told me she was a Pastor's wife and shut the door. Maybe it was the fact I had two backpacks on and probably pretty dusty which made her not want to talk about Jesus? Anyways, about 2 kilometers further I knocked on another door. A man named Joe answered. He sternly told me that he didn't want to have anything to do with talking about Jesus. I said Okay and started to pick up by bags to walk away. That is when he asked me "where are you going?". I replied, "to the highway to continue hitchhiking (there were no houses until quite a ways down)". He told me that I shouldn't be outside because there was a Tornado about 15 minutes behind me.
What !? I had no idea there was a tornado chasing me down! He invited me into his house and gave me with water, bread and canned sausage to eat. I was very grateful and this reminded me of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, " Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" It dawned at me that I didn't eat anything that whole day, yet God provided a meal for me to eat. Praise God!
Joe allowed me to stay in his house until the tornado danger was over. I didn't get a chance to preach to Joe, because he made it clear that I could stay, but asked if I can keep what I want to share to myself. I respected this. (sidepoint: we exchanged contacts after this and he later apologized for not allowing me to talk with him about Jesus. He was a Christian - I think - but seemed like he was going through a difficult time.)
Anyways, I found myself back on the highway hitchhiking when it happened... that moment.
As I look into the grey skies behind me walking down the I 20, I start to see the clouds parting and that is when I saw it. A Beautiful double rainbow right above me. I never saw a double rainbow in person before. This was God showing me that he was with me, and his promises will be kept. My faith felt strengthened and I continued my journey to Cali.
Thanks to those that made it this far. To anyone contemplating doing something that God is putting on your heart, my advice would be to listen to God. I don't take my own advice sometimes. Like the israelites it is easy to forget what God has done for us.
In peace
My special moment is when I went out in faith and trusted that God would provide. This is going to be a long one so brace yourself brothers and sisters.
I lived in Texas at the time, and I felt the Lord calling me to Cali. I was only 18 at the time and I knew for certain God was calling me to Cali for the Lord's work. Previously I was working as a Phlebodomist at a plasma donation center getting paid 11.60 an hour and got promoted to a designated trainer after 6 months working there (I had no previous experience with being a Phleb). Needless to say I had a good job and was moving up in the corporate ladder. Materially I was fully taken care of. Spiritually, I felt like I was dying. I was at a low point in my life and I didn't know what to do. I was getting into all type of immoral acts (drugs, sex, partying, etc.) and I seared my conscious to God's voice.
It was around this time that I started searching for a more deeper relationship with God, and that is when I felt led to read the Bible (specifically the four gospels). I remember telling God to reveal the truth to me and whatever it is he wanted me to do, I was going to do it. No matter how difficult it may be. For all those who's done something similar, you know what happens next. God revealed what he wanted me to do. He gave me 3 verses.
Luke 14:33, " So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Matthew 6:24, " No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 28:19-20, "
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
I was awe struck by the task that was at hand. Jesus was telling me to leave everything I had, quit my job, and go into all the world preaching the gospel. I didn't have faith to do that. I started to haggle with God. I was trying all that I can to not believe the words that Jesus spoke because I didn't want to do what he asked of me. I wanted to continue to do my own thing. But then... God dealt with me in a way that I will never forget.
To fully understand you have to meet a 15 year old named Ivan. My younger sister and he were friends in the same High school. He would come over and hang out with her for time-to-time and we had friendly interactions together. I learned that he was an atheist and very depressed. I started to witness to Ivan and try to show him that God loves him and wants to help him through the tough time he was going through. He mentioned that our conversations were helping him get over his depression and come to find God in his life. He was still very depressed, however. He tended to gain strength after our conversation, but then slip right back into his depression once he went back home and school.
Thursday night rolls around and I get a message from Ivan at 11pm just saying "Hi". I knew he must have been going through a tough time for him to be messaging me so late. At this time I was already in bed, tired, and had to get up and the next morning at 6am. I told myself I would message him after work tomorrow. I was working 16hr shifts so I would be very tired after work and wanted to have time to myself. Also, it was during this time I was contemplating whether or not I should listen to Jesus' words and go to Cali as I felt that is where he was wanting me to preach.
Work the next day comes and goes, and I am in the backyard of my house asking a couple of church buddies when should I listen to what I believe Jesus is telling me to do and leave it all. As these words come out of my mouth, my younger sister walked outside. She tells me she has bad news about Ivan. She said he committed suicide that morning..
My soul was crushed. How could I haggle with God so much that he needed to do something as serious as this to get my attention. That is when I realized I had to do what Jesus has been telling me to do ASAP. If I would have listened to Jesus one day earlier and quit my job, then there wouldn't have been anything stopping me from going over and helping Ivan that night. The thought of "I need to rest for work tomorrow" wouldn't have been a factor. Rather I would have thought "this child needs Jesus, and that is what I am here to do. My job is to do the Lord's work"
I can appreciate how one can get very condemned about this happening to them, so I thank anybody who has that concern for me as they read this. I have resolved this issue with God and me. So, no worries on that point.
Hang in there... I am getting to that special moment pretty soon.
Fast forward to me in my 2001 Honda civic with 80$ in my pocket and some clothes in my back seat driving down the I 20 heading to Cali. I didn't want to haggle with God anymore. I wanted to put my full trust in him and do it his way; not mine. After I reached the pan handle of Texas, close to the Oklahoma border, my engine blew. I wasn't mechanically savvy, so I had NO idea what to do at this point. At this moment I was at a crossroads. I could call my mom to come and pick me up and take me back to the comfort of my house, or I trust God and continue making my way to Cali having faith that if God wants me to be there, then he will provide a way. I carried what I could on my back and continued West.
Bare with me the moment is coming.
While I was hitchhiking down the highway, I felt convicted that I wasn't preaching to the house that was passing me by. I hopped on the highway and started to knock on people's doors to see if they want to hear the good news about Jesus. The first house was in the outback of Texas so it took a lot of walking to finally reach it. An older lady in a robe answered the door. I asked her if she wanted to talk about Jesus (or something to that effect) and she told me she was a Pastor's wife and shut the door. Maybe it was the fact I had two backpacks on and probably pretty dusty which made her not want to talk about Jesus? Anyways, about 2 kilometers further I knocked on another door. A man named Joe answered. He sternly told me that he didn't want to have anything to do with talking about Jesus. I said Okay and started to pick up by bags to walk away. That is when he asked me "where are you going?". I replied, "to the highway to continue hitchhiking (there were no houses until quite a ways down)". He told me that I shouldn't be outside because there was a Tornado about 15 minutes behind me.
What !? I had no idea there was a tornado chasing me down! He invited me into his house and gave me with water, bread and canned sausage to eat. I was very grateful and this reminded me of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, " Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" It dawned at me that I didn't eat anything that whole day, yet God provided a meal for me to eat. Praise God!
Joe allowed me to stay in his house until the tornado danger was over. I didn't get a chance to preach to Joe, because he made it clear that I could stay, but asked if I can keep what I want to share to myself. I respected this. (sidepoint: we exchanged contacts after this and he later apologized for not allowing me to talk with him about Jesus. He was a Christian - I think - but seemed like he was going through a difficult time.)
Anyways, I found myself back on the highway hitchhiking when it happened... that moment.
As I look into the grey skies behind me walking down the I 20, I start to see the clouds parting and that is when I saw it. A Beautiful double rainbow right above me. I never saw a double rainbow in person before. This was God showing me that he was with me, and his promises will be kept. My faith felt strengthened and I continued my journey to Cali.
Thanks to those that made it this far. To anyone contemplating doing something that God is putting on your heart, my advice would be to listen to God. I don't take my own advice sometimes. Like the israelites it is easy to forget what God has done for us.
In peace