Out here on the gospel road, timing and trust can be everything!
Timing
We just pulled in from a day of street preaching and I saw a camper van parked off a ways. I went outside to take a quick walk and the mans dog came charging up to me. He yelled at the dog but I said no problem and he made friends with me fast. We began to talk and it turns out he is a fellow van dweller traveling through. He was headed from New York going all the way to Phoenix. We talked about this life and he told me he had redone several vans.
I switched the conversation to spiritual matters and was able to preach the gospel to him and encourage him to go see my van dwelling tip page and the gospel.
If I did not go out to walk and his dog did not charge me, we never would have met. Glory to God.
It reminds me of this verse:
Micah 7:7 - Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
To be honest, I wait on God a lot these days.
See there is not much I plan way out in advanced as a street preacher. We kind of have a few short/long term plans but; I leave it wide open to change/adjust and God seems to guide our path daily. We have to trust Him for timing like a child trusts his father amen?
Trust
Yesterday as we street preached outside a Salvation Army place in a homeless area of a Oklahoma town, I had to deal with a angry homeless man. I was preaching and he was yelling at me. At one point he said he would come over and shut me up but I kept preaching. If you know them they can be drunk, on drugs or demonic at times or all at the same time! He walked over by our van and was looking in the windows so I walked over to him. He wanted food so we helped him there and I talked to him about God's truth. He calmed down. But as we went back to our street preaching, I saw him take a large knife out of his pocket and in anger he was throwing it to stick it in a tree and he looked like he was good at it too. That day as any; I had to trust God was in control so I could minister to him. I always say its a good day to die for the Lord and I have to mean it or I would be foolish with my life. No one will kill or harm me till my Father allows it. I told sister debbie I do not fear as I believe God has a hedge of protection for us. Oh, I know someday that may not be there and it will be my time to get hurt bad or maybe die for the cause. You think that is what Jesus meant when he said lose your life in Matt 10 vs just sitting in a comfy pew every Sunday men?
Proverbs 3:6 - In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
I will say I was never good at patience/timing or trusting God as I was a doer and I always took control got it done. But out here, I cannot control much with all the unknowns, dangers and pitfalls so we have to trust in the Lord fully. Remember I am out here on my own with my godly wife to look after and God is so good to us!
How are you doing at these today God's timing and trust?
Let me say that stepping out into your ministry does that to a man. If you sit all cozy and doing the same thing in the same place daily, you take control but have no God's timing or trust in God. I encourage you to step out men and do something different to grow. I mean come try life out ministering in the dark world to total strangers, in strange new places even if it is not your calling on a vacation. You will grow, you will stop being in charge and you WILL learn to wait / trust on God; trust me!
God be praised
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