I received a call last week, from a brother in CHRIST who was driving to a burn center in Ft. Worth to visit a young man and his mother. The boy had recently suffered third degree burns over 80% of his body in a tragic incident. Howard, who had been a Tuesday morning regular at a “Ministry in the Marketplace” study I led for a couple of years, had seen the story of this young man on the local news the previous evening and felt GOD urging him to meet him. When I asked him if he knew the boy, he said he did not. When I asked him if the young fellow was a believer, he said he didn’t know. He didn’t even know if he would be allowed into the burn unit to see the mother, much less the boy. All he knew was that GOD was urging him to go meet the boy and his mother and that he was to minister “E²” to them.
Howard went on to relate that he had won a trip to a ReMax conference in San Antonio, a couple weeks prior. He had taken his wife, who is his business partner in a ReMax office. Together they had listened to a motivational speaker at the meeting, a CHRISTian man who had been badly burned over most of his body. As Howard listened, he appreciated the guy’s unflappable attitude and his encouraging story, but wondered to himself, why he had taken the time out of a very busy schedule, to make the drive down south. Watching the news a couple of weeks later, it hit him when he saw the piece on the young man from his community. He was convinced that GOD had “spoken” to him and was directing him to share CHRIST with an unbeliever and/or encourage a brother in CHRIST to finish the race. I asked if we could pray together on the phone while he was parked at the hospital, before he went in. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to give Howard the words HE wanted spoken to the boy and then hung up.
Howard and I spoke again today, when I followed up with a phone call. He never got to speak directly with the boy. He was able to see him through the protective glass of his intensive care room. The mom was not there when Howard arrived. He spent five hours there at the burn unit, praying for the boy and his mom. He was faithful to the opportunity GOD had afforded him. He was not frustrated with the circumstances that prevented him from speaking with the young man and his mother. He was there to do what he felt GOD wanted him to do and that’s what he did. I told Howard I was greatly encouraged by his willingness to serve GOD and others. His response … “I’m just trying serve others where HE directs me. You know, to become involved in HIS program, like we learned in ‘Establishing Your Purpose’.”
FATHER thank you for “faithful men.”
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