If This Feeling Is from You, Lord…
Last summer, two of my colleagues from Life in Messiah stayed in our Brooklyn ministry center. They asked if I would like to join them at a senior assisted living facility the next day, where a local church group hosted a service once a month. They also mentioned two of the people who may attend were Jewish and not believers.
The night before going, I had such a strong feeling I would be the one giving the message during the service, even though no one had asked me to do so. So I prayed, “If this feeling is from You, Lord, I want to be prepared.” Then I grabbed my Bible, a pad of paper, and a pen – and prepared a gospel message.
The following day, about 25 people gathered in the assisted living facility’s activity room. We mingled, and my colleagues soon found the two elderly residents who were Jewish. They engaged in conversation while I talked with others. The service was going to start soon, and after we sang some praise songs, the Lord confirmed my “feeling” from the night before was indeed from Him. A woman from the local church group approached me and said, “I’m sorry to spring this on you, but would you be willing to give the message today?”
I smiled and said, “Yes, I’m prepared.” I gave a message from Genesis 22 about Abraham and Isaac and then spoke of how this foreshadowed another Son, who would die for our sins as written in the gospel of John.
After the service, I was able to speak with *Anna, a 90-year-old Jewish woman. She had told one of my colleagues, “I should not have been here. I’m Jewish and this was a Christian message about Jesus.”
Before we left, I went to Anna and she extended her hand for me to clasp. I thanked her for coming and told her to think about the message. She smiled and said, “Thank you.”
When we listen to the Lord and obey when He speaks to our heart, He may be preparing us for opportunities down the line that we can’t yet see. But He sees them, and He is faithful.
—Jeff, Life in Messiah staff member
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