Just a few days ago, while my husband and I were out, he dropped me off at near-by Starbucks while he took care of an errand.
I decided to make the most of my down time. I grabbed a drink and my phone, propped my feet up and started reading.
As I sat there, I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation that was happening just a couple of tables away. It seemed that the guy’s marriage was in trouble. The friend was really trying to encourage this guy to do his part to save the marriage.
I tried to focus & just go through my emails but that wasn’t working. I wasn’t sure if they were believers or not but I just started praying right then and there for this guy’s marriage.
Then, it hit me…I am a part of the marriage ministry at my church. I should say something to him about our marriage program.
All kinds of thoughts went through my mind after that. What if I approach him and he starts yelling at me to mind my own business? What if he starts questioning me and I don’t have the answers for him?
By now, his friend had left and he was sitting alone. In spite of my hesitation, I knew I had to do something. So, I simply wrote down the name of my church and the marriage programs we offer. As soon as I saw my husband’s car in the parking lot, I went up to the guy (that way, just in case he was crazy, I could run to the car).
I had never done this before so I felt awkward but I pushed through.
“Hi…um, my name is Anitha and I am so sorry but I couldn’t help but overhear some of your conversation…”. I handed him the paper and shared that my husband & I serve in the marriage ministry at our church. Once I gave him the information, his response surprised me. He and his wife had just completed that exact program at their church.
Then, I knew. I knew God had me there for a reason.
I told him that I had been praying for them as I was sitting there and while I didn’t really know anything about his situation, I did know this…God wants their marriage to work. He agreed. He shook my hand, told me his name and said thank you.
And that was it.
I don’t know if I will ever know how his story ends up but could it be that I was meant to be a very small part of that story? Maybe he will see that the God of the Universe thought enough of him and his marriage to send me there at that exact place and exact time? Could that have been a sign for him that God was still fighting for their marriage? And seriously, what are the odds of all of this playing out like it did?
The odds are pretty good when you serve an omniscient, omnipresent God.
“Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push—in just the right place—it can be tipped.” Malcolm Gladwell
I was reminded of the Israelite girl who was carried off by the Syrians and placed as a servant in the home of Naaman, the commander of the army. When he developed leprosy, this young girl simply says, “…Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:3b)
I wonder if she hesitated before she said that. After all, Naaman didn’t serve the God of Israel but she did. She pushed through and that one statement ultimately led to Naaman’s healing of his body and soul.
14 “ …according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 Then he returned to the man of God…And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel…”. (2 Kings 5:14-15)
What if you are meant to be the tipping point in someone’s life? It could happen anywhere, at any time. When we remember that we are always on assignment, that we are Christ’s ambassadors, His hands, His feet… then these situations that randomly happen may not seem so random after all.
The slightest push…and someone could be healed or a marriage could be saved. Through the work of the Spirit, you & I could be that tipping point. ~Anu