Tuesday, June 05, 2007
God's Hand
A friend of mine from work told me about an amazing God moment she had yesterday. I told her it would be neat to share with others so here is her story in her words...
Have you ever felt God’s hand upon you? Have you ever felt God suddenly communicating with you and immediately answering your prayer? I had the privilege of having that experience this morning! Now, at the time of this writing, it has been almost twelve hours since my profound spiritual and emotional experience, and I’m still in awe. Our God is so wonderful and so creative in the ways that He talks to us! God talked to me this morning over the telephone, using a complete stranger to be His voice!
Before I tell you my story, I’ll give you a little background on myself. I’m a switchboard operator/receptionist for an insurance company. I have two grown sons in the Army National Guard who have already been to Iraq once, and I recently found out that they both have to go back to Iraq again this year. I didn’t take their deployment very well the first time around, and I’m taking it even harder this time. Besides deployments to Iraq, my family has recently lost a close family member, we’ve been dealing with unemployment, and various illnesses. So, not unlike every other human being that God has put on this earth, we’ve had our trials and tribulations.
This morning, amidst a stack of paperwork that needed to be entered into the computer and the endlessly ringing switchboard, I felt the need to take a minute to pray. I asked God to guide me, to show me the way. I asked Him to help me to hear him better when he speaks to me and to have the courage to do what he tells me to do.
As I recently taught my K-3rd grade Sunday school class, God answers our prayers in three ways: 1) sometimes he says “yes” 2) sometimes he says “no”, and 3) sometimes he makes us wait. I’ve experienced God answering my prayers with a “yes” many times during my life, but I’ve never received an answer from him as quickly as I did today!
I no sooner finished my prayer to Him, when my switchboard rang with a very unusual call and caller! At first the gentleman started off with a cute joke, which made me wonder if he was one of our ornery agents. He didn’t identify himself, but I assumed from the ease with which he spoke that he was a professional. Suddenly after the opening joke, he took on a very serious tone and bluntly asked me, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?” I was shocked and very taken aback! While I was expecting to hear some type of insurance question, instead I was asked a deeply personal question about my salvation. Although I didn’t know this man, and I didn’t understand his motives, I felt in my heart that I had to tell the truth and that I should never, ever deny my Lord out of embarrassment. I boldly told him “yes!” He then asked me if my name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I spoke my next “yes!” even more courageously! He then started witnessing to me and encouraging me, telling me that God is always present with us, even though we cannot see him physically. (When he mentioned that last part, I got shivers up and down my arms, because that was part of the lesson that I was teaching my Sunday school children just yesterday! We had been learning the story of God showing himself as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night to guide the Israelites out of Egypt. I had just asked the children yesterday if they believed that God is still in our presence, even though we don’t see him physically like the Israelites did so long ago.) When this stranger mentioned this to me over the phone, I felt like it was God talking directly to me!
Next, my friend from God told me that when we seem to suffer the most, that is when God gives us the greatest blessings. I told this man that I understood suffering and loss, relating to him the situation with my boys in Iraq. My caller then asked me if both of my boys were believers. I told him that one was a believer, but sadly, the other wasn’t. He then asked the name of my son that doesn’t believe, and right then and there he prayed with me for my son’s salvation! How did he know that I needed that? I’ll tell you how…because my Heavenly Father knew that I needed that! My precious Lord answered my call for help immediately, and my whereabouts (the workplace) didn’t stop him in the least!
My new friend (who I never learned the identity of), it turns out called the wrong number. But did he call the wrong number? I don’t believe that he did. After we discussed his original business in making the call to me, it turned out that he needed to call another agency, not mine.
I then let him in on my little secret…that I had JUST finished talking to God and asking Him for guidance when God sent this stranger to talk to me at work! After telling him this, my new friend got choked up and, although he spoke with such sureness and confidence throughout our conversation earlier, suddenly, he admitted to me that he was overwhelmed by what I related to him. He said that he felt very blessed and privileged to find out that God had used him as an instrument for me.
He then wished me well and told me that he would see me in Heaven and that we’ll know each other, because as he said, “All of God’s kids are going to see each other and know each other.”
Have you ever felt God’s hand upon you? Have you ever felt God suddenly communicating with you and immediately answering your prayer? I had the privilege of having that experience this morning! Now, at the time of this writing, it has been almost twelve hours since my profound spiritual and emotional experience, and I’m still in awe. Our God is so wonderful and so creative in the ways that He talks to us! God talked to me this morning over the telephone, using a complete stranger to be His voice!
Before I tell you my story, I’ll give you a little background on myself. I’m a switchboard operator/receptionist for an insurance company. I have two grown sons in the Army National Guard who have already been to Iraq once, and I recently found out that they both have to go back to Iraq again this year. I didn’t take their deployment very well the first time around, and I’m taking it even harder this time. Besides deployments to Iraq, my family has recently lost a close family member, we’ve been dealing with unemployment, and various illnesses. So, not unlike every other human being that God has put on this earth, we’ve had our trials and tribulations.
This morning, amidst a stack of paperwork that needed to be entered into the computer and the endlessly ringing switchboard, I felt the need to take a minute to pray. I asked God to guide me, to show me the way. I asked Him to help me to hear him better when he speaks to me and to have the courage to do what he tells me to do.
As I recently taught my K-3rd grade Sunday school class, God answers our prayers in three ways: 1) sometimes he says “yes” 2) sometimes he says “no”, and 3) sometimes he makes us wait. I’ve experienced God answering my prayers with a “yes” many times during my life, but I’ve never received an answer from him as quickly as I did today!
I no sooner finished my prayer to Him, when my switchboard rang with a very unusual call and caller! At first the gentleman started off with a cute joke, which made me wonder if he was one of our ornery agents. He didn’t identify himself, but I assumed from the ease with which he spoke that he was a professional. Suddenly after the opening joke, he took on a very serious tone and bluntly asked me, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?” I was shocked and very taken aback! While I was expecting to hear some type of insurance question, instead I was asked a deeply personal question about my salvation. Although I didn’t know this man, and I didn’t understand his motives, I felt in my heart that I had to tell the truth and that I should never, ever deny my Lord out of embarrassment. I boldly told him “yes!” He then asked me if my name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I spoke my next “yes!” even more courageously! He then started witnessing to me and encouraging me, telling me that God is always present with us, even though we cannot see him physically. (When he mentioned that last part, I got shivers up and down my arms, because that was part of the lesson that I was teaching my Sunday school children just yesterday! We had been learning the story of God showing himself as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night to guide the Israelites out of Egypt. I had just asked the children yesterday if they believed that God is still in our presence, even though we don’t see him physically like the Israelites did so long ago.) When this stranger mentioned this to me over the phone, I felt like it was God talking directly to me!
Next, my friend from God told me that when we seem to suffer the most, that is when God gives us the greatest blessings. I told this man that I understood suffering and loss, relating to him the situation with my boys in Iraq. My caller then asked me if both of my boys were believers. I told him that one was a believer, but sadly, the other wasn’t. He then asked the name of my son that doesn’t believe, and right then and there he prayed with me for my son’s salvation! How did he know that I needed that? I’ll tell you how…because my Heavenly Father knew that I needed that! My precious Lord answered my call for help immediately, and my whereabouts (the workplace) didn’t stop him in the least!
My new friend (who I never learned the identity of), it turns out called the wrong number. But did he call the wrong number? I don’t believe that he did. After we discussed his original business in making the call to me, it turned out that he needed to call another agency, not mine.
I then let him in on my little secret…that I had JUST finished talking to God and asking Him for guidance when God sent this stranger to talk to me at work! After telling him this, my new friend got choked up and, although he spoke with such sureness and confidence throughout our conversation earlier, suddenly, he admitted to me that he was overwhelmed by what I related to him. He said that he felt very blessed and privileged to find out that God had used him as an instrument for me.
He then wished me well and told me that he would see me in Heaven and that we’ll know each other, because as he said, “All of God’s kids are going to see each other and know each other.”
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