Friday, August 28, 2009
Mathews 25:34-40
34"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
................In other words, by being obedient and giving to our brothers and sisters, we're already giving to God.
Something happened today that was surreal. The way God works was just amazing and you'll find out soon.
Several weeks ago, I have noticed this guy working at a traffic light somewhere uni. When the lights turn red, he would walk to each car with a windscreen wiper and ask the drivers if he could wash their wipers for them, for some little cash(any amount was enough). But one day, while going to uni, I saw the guy travelling on the same bus with me, he suddenly got up at his stop (as usual, near the traffic lights). Once he turned around I noticed that he only had one arm, and suddenly my spirit wanted to do something. God wanted me to do something. He said, "take the 50 dollar note in your wallet and give to the person."
The thing is, I seldom seldom bring a 50 dollar note in the middle of the week to uni as it would have been broken to smaller amounts by then, but on that day, I had a 50 dollar note in my wallet. But at that time I was straggling, as I have a weakness for giving, because of my addiction to shopping. HAHAHAHA! Anyway, I didnt have the time to give to the person as he was alighting the bus.
After that, I never saw him again.
On Wednesday, a usual routine for me was going to Powerhouse at Hillsong. So on that day, Thomas was talking about how being obedient to God would mean a world to someone else. One of his story was like this. While preaching in Denmark(I think), A homeless guy came in and sat there, he heard god telling him to offer the homeless guy his jacket. And according to Thomas, it was no ordinary jacket, it was a new trendy jacket that was a wind breaker as well. But he hesitated and gave it away to the homeless guy. After giving it away, he realised that he left his gloves in the pockets and was thinking of getting it back as he loved those gloves ass well, but he felt it was awkward to ask for his jacket back so he can get his gloves out.
At the end of the service, the homeless guy came up to Thomas in tears and saying that he was actually praying for a jacket and gloves when he came into the church. Coincidence?? I doubt. But that little act of giving meant a world to the homeless person.
After hearing it, it reminded me of the particular scene mentioned above that happened to me. So I prayed, "God, if you want me to give to this person, give me another chance. Hopefully it's Friday after class, on the way back, because if it is on Thursday, I might not be able to give my last 50 dollar note of the week to him as I might need money on Friday. Amen."
So on Friday, I actually have plans to spend that last 50 dollar note for the week for dinner with my friends, as it was the birth of one of them. But due to the poor attendance, the celebration had to be postponed. That means I wont be spending on that last 50 dollar note. And why I said Friday after class was because, if I were to see him on Thursday, I won't be able to give as I might need it on Friday as mentioned in my prayer and that the fact on the weekends I am always with my cousins and could make a loan, so Friday afternoon was the best time!
On the was to the city, I was busy facebooking while on the bus using my phone. And at the traffic light, all the sudden my high lifted up and right there, I saw the guy outside working, wiping peoples windscreens(but most rejected) and I knew it was God's calling as it was right after uni! ON FRIDAY! I know its freaky, but that was the least of my thoughts.
I hurried and press the stop button, got down the bus stop and rushing over to the other side where he was working. I knew I had to step out my comfort zone right away, not that talking to a total stranger was super hard for me, given the fact of my outgoing persona... hahaha, anyway back to the story.
So he saw me coming towards him and I gave him a smile, and he gave me a awkward smile, those kinda smile you give to a person who smiled at you but is a total stranger. I opened my mouth right away and uttered "Can I talk to you for a minute?" and he just looked and me and tried to brush me aside saying he was not interested thinking I was some weirdo, but I got up my courage and said, seriously, just for a minute. So he came a little closer to acknowledge that "ok, go ahead, say what you want to say."
And I went "I dont know, but ever since I saw you coming here day to day and working under the hot sun and cold weather eventhough your conditions, there was something inside of me telling me to give you something, like God asking me to give you something. My spirit was telling me to do that"
and he went, "what?"
Then I told him, "I ever since that day I knew I had to give you something but I never saw you again, so I prayed to meet you on Friday afternoon, after class. And this is exactly the time."
So I hurried into my wallet, and took out the 50 dollar note, and I said to him, I really really want you to have it. And the smile on his face made my day. It really made my day! It was sincere and genuine! It wasnt that kinda smile you give when you get free money. But something in me told me that he needed that money. He was lost for words, although he mange to utter a few words like "thank you very much. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Have a good weekend." Although, those words might seem insignificant, but deep down, it made my spirit super happy that even till now, I still am super pumped of what I did.
I know myself, I sometimes am a stingy person, but ever so yet, I get this generosity frenzy especially when it comes to friends. But anyhow, I know I get super stingy when I wanna buy something and is in the midst of saving up and especially that was my last 50 for the week! But I didnt feel sad at all, I feel really positive knowing that I done the right thing.
So after we had a nice gesture to each other saying our "God Blesses", I knew we parted ways with both worlds feeling really happy. Mine and someone else's. I guess its really good when you be obedient to some of God's wishes.
So on the way back, I realised my travel 10 for my bus ride was all used up and I had no cash, I was deciding to walk to the city, but nearing a bus stop, my friend came down from the bus and asked me why was I there. I was glad to see her and asked if she had money for me to borrow so I can get a bus ride. And yup, she approved that loan :D
So Thomas' message on Wednesday, My friend cancelling the Friday night dinner, The one arm man being at the traffic lights exactly Friday afternoon, after class just like in my prayer, and my friend coming down the bus and borrowed me money for a bus fair. Do you think its a coincidence?? Yet again I SAY I DOUBT IT!
God meant it to happen, and this showed that God can make anything possible. HANDS DOWN! Seriously, everything fell into place so nicely! Every detail. At last, I guess even me, how I responded to the situation - positive - has already been one of the best thing God could have done besides planning everything out. God loves a cheerful giver.
So when telling the story to Wendy, she asked, of all people, why do you think it was him, he could get a job, cant he? It got me thinking, I guess, I rather give money to him than to some homeless person lying on the roadside begging for money. Even though he has only one arm, he is making full use of it, coming to the same spot every day just to earn a living. His determination has already awed me, better yet his condition! As for the job concern, I guess he might have lost his job that is why he ended up doing this. I mean his conditions and him being mid 30's judging by his looks would be hard to get a job, especially during this economic down turn, so I think I would rather help someone who wants to help themselves. And I guess God knew this person really needed the help.
:D
silenced at 8/28/2009 08:36:00 PM
