Spilled Tea and a God-encounter
Friday morning I settled into my favorite place on our back porch with my tea, candles, computer, and Bible, excited to spend the morning writing with God. (He’s leading me to write a book which I’ll share more about in my next update). I had just turned my computer on when something fell on my head and to my horror, began crawling in my hand as I grabbed it. Not knowing what I was holding, I screamed and threw it, along with most of the tea in the mug I was holding. To my dismay, I watched the majority of my tea spill onto my computer and soak through the entire thing. I tried to dry it as fast as I could, but it was no use. Slowly the screen on my computer went dimmer and dimmer until it was completely black.
“Ok, don’t panic,” I told myself, “This happened in Kenya and God fixed it. He can do it again this morning.” So I prayed and asked God to revive my computer and save the hours of writing for my book that were on it. Sadly, nothing happened. “Well God, you must be up to something. I know you could fix this if you really wanted, so you must have some other plan for today. Show me what it is and how I can join you in it.”
I packed up my things and decided to drive to the laptop repair store down the street from our office. Maybe they could help. Praying the whole way to the store, I walked in with confidence that God would show up. And boy did He ever. I was met at the counter by a middle-aged man who I soon learned was named Jashwinder (Jesse for short). I told him what happened and we turned on my computer to see what he could do. And to my utter delight, it was working perfectly – the screen was bright and clear! “Thank you Lord!” I exclaimed. “Wow, I was praying that God would fix it as I drove, and He totally did.” Jesse didn’t quite know how to respond to that, but he said he’d still like to wait a little bit to make sure everything was working ok. As he fiddled with it, I began asking him questions about his job, where he came from, etc. He’s from India and moved to the States in 1985. But it’s been a lonely 22 years here. “No one seems to have time for anyone else here,” he said. “I miss India, but I can’t go back to visit because I’m still waiting for my paperwork to come through.”
As we continued to chat, I mentioned God again and he said, “Wow, you really believe in God don’t you?” “Yes,” I said with a big smile, “He’s my best friend. Do you believe in God?” “Yes, I believe in God. I feel like you have to – I mean all this can’t come from nothing,” he said. “Do you know Him,” I asked. “No, I don’t know Him,” he admitted. “I’d like to know Him, but I just can’t seem to figure out how.”
Throughout the next hour he told me about the beliefs of his religion Sikh (a form of Hinduism). He sadly admitted that he just didn’t have time to spend the 4 hours of meditation a day that was required to be able to know God. I listened and asked questions, and then shared about the God I know and how much easier it really is to know Him. Jesse was very interested and said that he would love to read a Bible if I brought one to him, and he was interested in coming to church as well.
As I was getting ready to leave, I said, “You know, I knew God was up to something this morning. He could have fixed my computer at my house, and I was asking Him to. He fixed it for me in Africa one time when I really needed Him to, and He could have done the same thing today. But He chose not to, and now I know why. He wanted me to meet you and for you to know who He is and how you can know him.” Jesse’s eyes filled with tears and he said, “Would God really do something like for me?” “Absolutely,” I said with a smile “that’s exactly the kind of God that He is.” “I can’t believe this,” Jesse exclaimed, “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”
After praying for him, Jesse looked at me and said, “I’m really glad you came in today. I’ve never met someone like you before.” And that one line brought tears to my eyes. It still does. Because what I heard in those words was “I’ve never met someone who really cared about me and where I came from, loved me with the love of God, and was bold enough to tell me who He is.” How sad. How can this man have lived 22 years in our country and never met someone like me? I wonder how many Christians have walked into his store and never once took the time to ask his name, love him with Christ’s love, and share the truth of God with him. Because the truth is, Jesse should have met plenty of people like me throughout the past 22 years. He passes Christians every day. And yet none have reached out to him.
We don’t have to travel to a foreign country to reach the nations. The nations are coming to us. The “unreached” are at our back-doors. They are working at our laundry-mats, lap-top repair stores, restaurants, and grocery stores. They are aliens in a foreign country who are lonely, struggling to find their place, and hungry for love and God. Will you seek to reach them with me? You don’t have to go to India to be a missionary. God may very well bring a Hindu from India straight to your neighborhood so that they might be reached with the good news. Will you keep your eyes and hearts open? Will you ask for opportunities to reach the nations in your daily life? Will you allow some spilled tea and a broken computer to lead a lost child into the Kingdom? Jesus isn’t coming back until this gospel has been preached to every tribe, tongue, and nation (Matthew 24:14). Let’s finish this task so our King can return! Our commission as His followers is clear: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.
“Ok, don’t panic,” I told myself, “This happened in Kenya and God fixed it. He can do it again this morning.” So I prayed and asked God to revive my computer and save the hours of writing for my book that were on it. Sadly, nothing happened. “Well God, you must be up to something. I know you could fix this if you really wanted, so you must have some other plan for today. Show me what it is and how I can join you in it.”
I packed up my things and decided to drive to the laptop repair store down the street from our office. Maybe they could help. Praying the whole way to the store, I walked in with confidence that God would show up. And boy did He ever. I was met at the counter by a middle-aged man who I soon learned was named Jashwinder (Jesse for short). I told him what happened and we turned on my computer to see what he could do. And to my utter delight, it was working perfectly – the screen was bright and clear! “Thank you Lord!” I exclaimed. “Wow, I was praying that God would fix it as I drove, and He totally did.” Jesse didn’t quite know how to respond to that, but he said he’d still like to wait a little bit to make sure everything was working ok. As he fiddled with it, I began asking him questions about his job, where he came from, etc. He’s from India and moved to the States in 1985. But it’s been a lonely 22 years here. “No one seems to have time for anyone else here,” he said. “I miss India, but I can’t go back to visit because I’m still waiting for my paperwork to come through.”
As we continued to chat, I mentioned God again and he said, “Wow, you really believe in God don’t you?” “Yes,” I said with a big smile, “He’s my best friend. Do you believe in God?” “Yes, I believe in God. I feel like you have to – I mean all this can’t come from nothing,” he said. “Do you know Him,” I asked. “No, I don’t know Him,” he admitted. “I’d like to know Him, but I just can’t seem to figure out how.”
Throughout the next hour he told me about the beliefs of his religion Sikh (a form of Hinduism). He sadly admitted that he just didn’t have time to spend the 4 hours of meditation a day that was required to be able to know God. I listened and asked questions, and then shared about the God I know and how much easier it really is to know Him. Jesse was very interested and said that he would love to read a Bible if I brought one to him, and he was interested in coming to church as well.
As I was getting ready to leave, I said, “You know, I knew God was up to something this morning. He could have fixed my computer at my house, and I was asking Him to. He fixed it for me in Africa one time when I really needed Him to, and He could have done the same thing today. But He chose not to, and now I know why. He wanted me to meet you and for you to know who He is and how you can know him.” Jesse’s eyes filled with tears and he said, “Would God really do something like for me?” “Absolutely,” I said with a smile “that’s exactly the kind of God that He is.” “I can’t believe this,” Jesse exclaimed, “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”
After praying for him, Jesse looked at me and said, “I’m really glad you came in today. I’ve never met someone like you before.” And that one line brought tears to my eyes. It still does. Because what I heard in those words was “I’ve never met someone who really cared about me and where I came from, loved me with the love of God, and was bold enough to tell me who He is.” How sad. How can this man have lived 22 years in our country and never met someone like me? I wonder how many Christians have walked into his store and never once took the time to ask his name, love him with Christ’s love, and share the truth of God with him. Because the truth is, Jesse should have met plenty of people like me throughout the past 22 years. He passes Christians every day. And yet none have reached out to him.
We don’t have to travel to a foreign country to reach the nations. The nations are coming to us. The “unreached” are at our back-doors. They are working at our laundry-mats, lap-top repair stores, restaurants, and grocery stores. They are aliens in a foreign country who are lonely, struggling to find their place, and hungry for love and God. Will you seek to reach them with me? You don’t have to go to India to be a missionary. God may very well bring a Hindu from India straight to your neighborhood so that they might be reached with the good news. Will you keep your eyes and hearts open? Will you ask for opportunities to reach the nations in your daily life? Will you allow some spilled tea and a broken computer to lead a lost child into the Kingdom? Jesus isn’t coming back until this gospel has been preached to every tribe, tongue, and nation (Matthew 24:14). Let’s finish this task so our King can return! Our commission as His followers is clear: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.
posted by Kierra Higgins at 9:10 PM
1 Comments:
What an awesome experience. God is good. It's so encouraging. Be bold and full of love. People need to hear about Him...they're desperate for Him. Way to go Kierra.
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