Something Completely Different

This week, I thought I’d take a break from the normal routine of how we do things here and just write about a few random thoughts that have been bouncing around in my noggin. I know that most of you are thinking right now, “There must be a lot of room in there for those thoughts to be bouncing around,” and you’d be right. But the truth of the matter is that there is nothing like having an opportunity to share some concerns, encouragements, challenges and (hopefully) blessings with all of you.

So now for something completely different!

Have you ever woken up in the morning (or evening, depending on your sleeping habits) and had someone totally random come to your mind? Perhaps you dreamed about that person and now you’re thinking about them and their face, name or whatever just will not leave your mind. I have had that happen often (again, it may be the consequence of having such an empty mind J).

What do you do when that happens? Do you laugh and just write it off as a weird coincidence? Or do you (like me) believe that there is no such thing as coincidence? Perhaps there is a reason that this person whom you haven’t thought about for ages, seemingly randomly pops into your mind. Let me share a story, and then a challenge:

There was a missionary in Africa who worked inland with a tribe of natives who were constantly at war with another tribe. When the missionary was low on supplies, he decided to go to the nearest town (a two day journey) and stock up. Those in the tribe urged him not go out because there had been threats on the tribe from their rivals and they feared that the missionary would be killed on his return trip and the supplies stolen.

The supplies were needed and so the missionary decided to put his trust in God and make the journey anyway. He made it to town without incident and bought the needed supplies. On the return trip, he made camp where he had on the way in, and proceeded to go to sleep. The next morning, we was still alive and headed back to the village.

When he arrived, the tribespeople were excited to see him, for they thought that he would certainly be killed. But later that day, a group of men from the rival tribe came into the village unarmed (a rarity) and sought out the missionary. They then asked him, “Who were the men who were protecting you last night?” The missionary was confused. “I was all alone last night as I was on the way into the town. There was no one with me.”

“No!” answered the men. “There were eight men with torches standing around you, and they would not allow us to get near you. We intended to kill you and take your supplies, but they would not allow it.”

The missionary rejoiced in the protection of God and used that incident to reach to the enemy tribe of the tribe he was working with and as a result, peace between the two tribes ensued and there was much work done for the Gospel.

Later, when that missionary went home on furlough, he was sharing the story in one of his supporting churches. After he told that story, a man came up to him and said, “What was the date that this incident occurred?”

The missionary thought it a strange question, and after some thought he shared the date on which it happened. The man who had asked the question began to smile broadly and he said, “That very night, I was awakened and your name was on my mind. I tried to go back to sleep, but I could not. I just kept thinking about you. So I got out of bed, and said a prayer for you and went back to sleep. The next day, your name was still on my mind. I tried to work, but I couldn’t. You were all I could think about. So I called the men in my prayer group at about 3 PM and said to them, ‘I have no idea why, but we need to be praying for this missionary.’ So we got together at 4 at my house and we prayed through the night until about midnight, when we finally felt that all was well.”

Flabbergasted, the missionary inquired how many men were in his prayer group. “There are 10 of us,” he replied. The missionary thought that maybe the number of men praying might have been the same as the number of men seen by those who had meant him harm that night, but that was not the case…until the other man said, “but only 8 of us were able to make it that night.”

When God places seemingly random people on your heart, pray for them. Pray hard and make sure you keep praying until the Spirit says it is time to stop. You may never know the power of your prayers!

So keep on praying, and we’ll see you on Sunday!