His Voice

Yesterday, I was sitting in my car at a park reading a book. A young black boy ran past my car, and it made me jump. It was odd because kids run past my car all the time when I'm there and it doesn't scare me. So I decided to watch him and his three brothers play on the playground. He had a toy gun in his hand pretending to shoot it...sideways. It made my heart sad because I knew he had to learn that from somewhere. I looked around to find his parents and spotted his mom sitting on a bench far away. I decided to try to ignore it all and keep reading my book. As I was reading, God told me, "Go talk to them and share the Gospel with them." I was like, "No, God. That's crazy. That can't be from you." I kept reading. Thirty minutes later I looked up and they were still playing. The urge got even stronger. God said, "Go share the gospel with them and give them $5 to split. I couldn't ignore it any longer so I got out my car and said, "God, this is crazy" and walked up to them. When I walked up I just said, "Hi, what's y'alls names?" One little boy mumbled something while the rest of his brothers scurried away towards their momma. The only little boy who responded ran away within seconds of me walking up, too. So I sat down on the nearest bench relieved that I had at least tried to do what God was telling me to do. I was sitting there for probably five minutes or so, asking God what that was all about, and something inside of me just knew God wasn't done with me yet. God told me, "Go share the gospel with the momma." I was like, God! No! I'm so scared." He was like, "Yes, you will!!" Plus he told me to give her $25. So I started walking, scared to death, towards the mother. God gave me instruction to #1. Share the gospel and #2. Give her $25. While God was speaking to me, I kept thinking about Brian and Katherine Miller who are missionaries for Global Transformation Ministries in Columbia. I listened to them talk two days before this happened. I kept thinking that if the Lord protects and equips them to boldly proclaim the gospel everyday to lost people in Columbia, he will surely do the same for me here in Baton Rouge where He has called me to live. So I prayed for God to give me peace and strength to accomplish what He wanted me to do. I slowly made my way over to the bench, praying so hard, where the mom was sitting. I sat down and said hello. Asked her about her boys. She told me their names, but I can't remember them. Her name was Carla. I told her I was sitting in my car and God told me to ask her if she knew who Jesus was. She said she did. Her voice and eyes were so gentle. A lot more gentle than I imagined. I told her that God wanted me to tell her that He loves her so much and Jesus died for all her sins on the cross. All she said was, "You gotta listen to that voice when he's speaking." I agreed. I noticed she was writing something down on this little notebook she had. So I asked her what she was working on. She told me she was selling plates in the upcoming weekend --- plate lunches to help raise money. I asked her what the cause was. She said that she was out of work for two months, because she taught at a school, and was almost out of money. It all made sense why God told me to give her that $25. So I pulled out the money in my pocket and gave it to her. I said, God told me to give this to you. She took it and told me thank you, from the bottom of her heart. We talked a few more minutes about how awesome God was. Her boys also were sitting at the table, so they saw it all happen. I walked back to my car amazed, got in my car, sat there for a few seconds, cried and then drove off. Then, two hours later, I had to go to Guitar Center to pick up a guitar tuner. And guess who I ran into? The Millers from Columbia!! I was able to share with them how their testimony of sharing the gospel in Columbia encouraged me to not be afraid to share the gospel with Carla. All that said, I'm just really thankful for God's voice. He's teaching me more and more everyday to listen and obey His voice. He's also teaching me what His voice sounds like. I'm a sheep in need of the perfect shepherd's voice. Lord, I pray for Carla that you would provide for her and show her and her boys your love. Give her grace, Lord for the times she's wronged you and help her teach her boys about you. Lord, send people in her life to help her and love her through this difficult time. In your perfect Son's name, Amen!