Have you ever found yourself in a crisis, not knowing what to do, when suddenly someone appeared out of nowhere to help you? That’s happened to me more than once. Years ago I took a trip from Oklahoma to Michigan driving an old, worn-out car. In the middle of the night my car broke down. There I was, a female with no credit cards, no AAA membership, no cell phone and very limited cash, stranded in the middle of the night on a highway somewhere in Missouri.
I prayed and asked the Lord to help me. Almost immediately a man in a pick-up truck appeared, fixed my car and made sure I got safely on my way. Whether he was human or an angel, only God knows. But one thing I’m certain of: He was sent by the Lord to help me out of a potentially dangerous situation.
In a similar way, we have been sent by Jesus into a world that is engulfed in darkness and to a people who are destitute and without hope, dying in their sin. Every day we meet lost souls who are headed down the road that leads to eternal destruction.
Jesus said, “Broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:14, NIV).
As Christians, it is our God-given responsibility to help people find the road that leads to life. But when the Holy Spirit brings people across our path so we can help them find their way, are we too busy to even notice, let alone lead them to Christ?
He set up a divine appointment like that for me one day that I could easily have missed. I had gone to a lake to pray. While walking in the woods, I noticed a woman dressed in a business suit sitting on a bench. I remember thinking how peculiar it was for her to be at the lake in a business suit.
Suddenly, before I could even think about it, I found myself running over to the lady, throwing my arms around her and asking her what was wrong. She grabbed me and sobbed uncontrollably in my arms. I began to pray aloud. Between sobs, she eventually told me her story.
Sin had taken such a toll in her life that she was contemplating suicide. She had just cried out to God, asking Him—if He was really there and still loved her—to send an angel to let her know. It was at that precise moment that I ran over to her. She thought I was a real angel when I put my arms around her and began to pray for her.
The Lord intervened and changed her life that day—and ultimately the lives of her husband and children. To her, I was an angel sent by God.
But what if I had been too busy—or too self-conscious—to stop and hug her? What if I had let my head get in the way instead of following my heart?
Don’t take a chance on missing an opportunity to save a soul. Ask God to give you His heartbeat for the lost and then look for opportunities to be His messenger. As we learn to follow the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit within our hearts and make ourselves available to God, He will use us to draw the world to Himself.
PRAYER POWER
Pray this week that you would be sensitive to His leading as He places you around those in need. Pray that He would send more laborers into His harvest. Remember those who already labor on mission fields here and around the world. Matt. 9:37-38; Matt. 19:13-14
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