Monday, April 14, 2014

Oh How He Loves Us!

The man was in his mid 40s.  He had obviously lived a hard life.  His clothes were dirty, he had a wild beard, and looked like a relative of Charles Manson.  He had few teeth, and his skin was badly sunburned.

He sat dejectedly on the side of the road in Green River, Utah, on his way home to Barstow, California.  He had been visiting his sister, who was dying of cancer in Missouri.  He had been gone over a month, and he needed to get back to try and get work again.  He had no car, no real home, and no money for travel.  So, just the way he had gone to Missouri, he began hitchhiking and walking home, over 1000 miles.  It took him six days to get to Grand Junction, Colorado.  Once there, he waited in the sun for four days before finally getting a ride, and it only got him to Green River, 90 miles away. 

He emerged at Green River, tired, sick, and hungry.  Some generous people gave him a meal and a few dollars.  It was early in the morning.  He had barely slept, and kept company with the animals as he camped along the way.  The man prayed that the weather would be good.  His tarp had ripped back in a blizzard in Nebraska, and he had no covering for his sleeping bag. 

It was a hot day.  The man had been in the sun for four days, and he hurt.  He was so tired.  He prayed to God that he could get home. 
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Another man heard about a lecture that he wanted to hear in Grand Junction.  After finding out that there were only a few seats available, he decided not to go.  The lecture would be recorded and he could get a copy of the CD with the words from the lecture, and he wouldn't have to pay all the travel costs.

A few days later, he saw a request from a friend on an internet chat group.  The friend was looking for a ride to the Grand Junction lecture.  God spoke quietly to the man, and told him that he ought to take his friend to the lecture.  The man didn't want to go, but after praying to know if he had understood correctly, the Lord told the man that he should go, and that if he wanted to know for sure if the prompting had come from God, he needed to act on it.

So the man decided to take his friend.  Not long after telling the friend he would take him, another friend asked to join.  So the man agreed to take both of his friends and drive a larger vehicle so they could all fit comfortably.
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The tired man in Green River sat in the sun, praying.  He was hot and his sunburn hurt, so he walked to the nearby gas station to get some shade.  A maintenance worker at the gas station told him to leave.  Too tired to argue, the man retreated back to his spot on the ground, in the middle of the sun.  He held up a sign for a while, but no one stopped.  He wondered if he would be able to go on.  He prayed again for the Lord to help him.  All day he waited for a ride, or even a glimmer of hope. 
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The three friends started out on their journey to the Grand Junction lecture.  The subject was Zion.  The three friends shared a common goal of coming into the presence of the Lord.  Becoming a Zion individual was part of that process of entering the presence of the Lord.  They talked of their experiences and goals.  They had been admonished before that the poor need to be taken care of.  They had brought a little bit of extra money.  None of the friends was particularly wealthy, but each did okay for themselves and had some to spare. 

The three men decided to stop in Green River for dinner.  As they pulled off the freeway, they headed for a restaurant, and just as they pulled in the parking lot, one of them noticed a man sitting on the side of the road.  Having just gotten done discussing the poor and the concept of Zion and serving the Lord, they felt compelled to see if the man needed anything.

They drove up and walked over to the man and talked with him.  They found out that he had been sitting there all day long, and had been on a long journey home from his sister's home in Missouri.  He was beat down, tired, and sick.  The three men gave him money and asked him what else they could do for him.  The traveler, in all his humility, asked only for a tarp, because his had been ruined in Nebraska.  The weather was forecast for rain the following day.

However, the three men found that Green River was just too small to find a place that sold a tarp.  They gave the man some money for a tarp.  Then, just as they were about to leave, the three men each felt compelled to ask the man if they could put him up in a motel for the night.

The traveler's eyes teared up.  He was so tired.  His stuff was dirty.  He needed to shave, to wash himself, to sleep, and wash his clothes.  He silently thanked God, and agreed to let these men put him in a motel.

The man climbed into the van with the three friends, and they drove to an inexpensive motel on the other side of town.  They went in with the man and checked him in.  Then the four went back out to the van and prayed.  And in that prayer, they asked blessings on the traveler, and thanked God for the opportunity to provide aid to a fellow brother.  The traveler wiped his eyes and told the three that they had answered his prayers.  The three told him of their prompting to come to the lecture.  Then the three friends left, each holding back tears, rejoicing in the good they had been able to do that day.
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Our Father loves us!  His Son loves us!  He hears the prayers of the rich, the poor, the worker, the unemployed, the dignified, and the humiliated.  That day, there was no doubt in the minds of those three friends that God answers prayers.  He set in motion a complex series of events, caused much money to be spent, and much time to be spent, all so He could answer the humble prayers of a bum in the middle of nowhere.  If He loves that man enough to grant him such a blessing, imagine how much He loves you and will grant YOU the blessing you seek from Him.

I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that God hears and answers prayers.  I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that promptings from the Spirit ought to be heeded, and that great and wonderful things will come as a result of small things.  I praise the name of Jesus Christ and thank Him for His love, His generosity, His kindness, His mercy.  He lives!

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