Several Sundays ago I shared with you a story of when I failed to obey God’s call to minister to a crying mother at the restaurant. Today I want to share with you of a time, when I actually answered God’s call (not without giving excuses first). The purpose of me sharing is not to have a spot light on me or a good pat on a back. In fact, I believe what God tells us in Matt 6:3-4 “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.” So why would I want to share this story with you? Well, simply because I want to show you how God blesses His children, when they obey. At the end of the story God gets all the glory, honor and praise!
Ever since my junior year of college I began to pray that God would reveal the real meaning of Christmas to me. Each year I pray that it would be in a different unexpected ways and I always look forward to see how God would show up when I am least expecting it. It has been fun watching every year God revealing the true meaning of Christmas in different ways. It is better then any material gift that I have received or even wonderful desserts that I get to eat at Christmas. If fact I can now completely understand what Luke 2:10 means, when angel was proclaiming the birth of Christ “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” I now get the real meaning of Christmas.
One particular Christmas season several years ago I was once again asking the Lord to reveal the true meaning of Christmas to me. One day after work I had to stop at Wal-Mart to pick up several things to cook for supper. It was windy outside and I felt chills going through my body as I was walking to my car with bags full of groceries. I noticed on my way out two people standing at the door of the store ringing bells for Salvation Army. I thought that they must feel miserably cold standing on one spot for extended period of time ringing the bells, yet I kept on trucking to my car.
The first thing I did when I got into my car was to turn heat as high as it would go, so I can warm up quickly. I buckled up and started to head home. Well, that was not quite the plan that God had in store for me that evening. As I started to drive, God impressed on my heart that I needed to go and buy hot chocolate for the bell ringers, who are probably freezing in front of Wal-Mart. “Oh, no!”, I told God. “For one, they will think that I am absolutely nuts. Two, they may not even like hot chocolate. I mean, I don’t like it, so how do I know that they like it? And while we at it, God, what if they will think that I put something in their drink (I know my mind wonders sometimes).” So I quickly brushed off the crazy mission that God wanted me to do and kept on driving. At that time my heart was beating faster than I could press my gas pedal when the light turned green.
I had a few cars in front of me and right as I approached the light, I made a U turn. I stopped by Taco Bell first and was not surprised when I was told that they do not serve hot chocolate. “So where do I go, God?” I asked quite a few times. Chick-Fil-A was next in line and I was pleasantly surprised when I was informed that they do serve hot chocolate. I asked for two cups and made sure to ask for a receipt. I was going to hang on to the receipt just in case the bell ringers wanted to know that their drinks were safe to drink. So now I was on a mission of delivering the drinks. My heart was beating so fast and I kept thinking what in the world will I tell these people, when I present them with drinks. Well, I am so thankful that God gently reminds us in His Word in Matt 10:19-20, “Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be giving what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you”. By the way that is one of my favorite Bible verses and I find it to be very comforting.
I desperately needed some kind of comfort, when I parked my car in the no parking zone and headed towards the bell ringers. My hands were shaking and I felt like I was about to start crying (God has blessed me with lots of emotions). When I came to the bell ringers I said, “You may think that this is crazy, but I felt that the Lord placed on my heart to bring you two cups of hot chocolate”. As I handed them both a drink a woman said to me, “We are at the end of our shift and were just talking how nice it would be to have something hot to drink, since it is cold outside.” I was speechless! God really knew what He was doing and He knows it all the time, even when I doubt Him. As I got back in my car I felt like I was swimming in a pool of blessing. I felt like God just took a huge bucket of blessings and showered me with it. God used me (big time sinner) to provide hot drinks for two people who were probably pretty cold that night. I felt so incredibly honored and humbled that God would even consider me for this job and I am so glad that He did not give up on me, when I gave Him gazillion excuses for why I didn’t want to do that mission.
Accomplishing the mission felt wonderful, but not without first giving all the glory, honor and praise to God. He knows our needs and He uses different situations to provide for our needs, even if it is bringing hot chocolate to strangers. At that moment I got my puzzle piece to a Christmas picture. If you look at Jesus’ life, He has set so many examples for us as Christians to follow. Just as Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, I am to follow His example. I am to have a heart that radiate a true desire to serve others in the way that Jesus would serve them. My friends, is your heart beating faster than your eyes can read this story? Is God asking you to do something that you think is absolutely crazy? Has He placed someone on your mind? Make that U turn right now to go wherever the Lord is leading you and I promise you will not regret it.
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