Are we willing to step out, even if they laugh and say “no”? Are we willing to be a part of their journey, even if they are seemingly a long way off from God? Are we willing to offer an encounter when He wants us to offer it, and risk ridicule? Are we willing to risk a “yes” and step into an encounter with them and release a promise, or a something that has been missing from their life, like the love of a Father, or the blessing of a faithful beautiful heart? Are we willing to be mocked in order to allow Him to be revealed into a world that is hurting and crying out for more? … If you are you will discover that … God is Good …
The afternoon of Friday 24th June 2011 my children and I were up at the shops to complete a few jobs– including the purchase of a much anticipated DVD of the “Sound of Music”.
We had to return some items to David Jones first and so stopped at the PJ counter. A young girl served us. As I stood there I felt that I was to offer to pray for her. When the transaction was complete I offered and she agreed. I quickly told her some stories about others in a similar situation, where I did not know why to offer, but did and the prayers were answered, much to the delight of the recipient of the prayer.
As I prayed I again got the word “study” (see links below for other stories) and asked her about it. She said that she was wanted to do a Masters. I prayed for favour for access into the masters course and asked her if she needed a supervisor … she did and so I prayed for favour with the supervisor, a “Father figure, kind and supportive “ … along those lines … when I stopped she said her father had died in the last year … As she spoke I felt that her father had died while she was on bad terms with him … I asked if she was on good terms with him when he died (not wanting to be negative) and she said “no, he died while we were on bad terms” … I sense she had not had a father with all those attributes I had just prayed, but here was God having me release into her world a father figure that would provide all that she had missed out on (for he is a Good God!) … so I said, “well, I sense that there is going to be healing for you” and I prayed again, for inner healing, that God would give her someone to help fill the gap so to speak that her father had never filled …
We went on to return a shirt. The person at the next counter was a bit difficult because my husband had used his card and it had a different number on it to mine, although it was the same account. She was very grouchy and I quietly prayed for God’s favour, trying to stay calm. As I stood there I recognised the person we had purchased the shirt from the Saturday afternoon before … I pointed her out hoping she would be a “witness” to my credibility. She instantly recognised me because my husband, son (4 year old) and I had bought her a chocolate doughnut and coffee after we had bought the shirt (it’s a long story but we wanted to bless her just “because”)…
At the time she had thought we were joking when we said we would get her a coffee and doughnut – but we had and although she was shocked we had, she was obviously delighted. She told me that she had thoroughly enjoyed the treat and had told everyone about us. Here was a situation where the integrity of the walk actually paid dividends (note: we did not spread the blessing of God for a return of favour, but in this instance it came back). She looked at me and said “I have told everyone about you … you put my faith back into people with what you did, you are famous in this store now because I have told everyone about what you and your family did …etc.” I was a little embarrassed, but she confirmed that I had been there, and that indeed my husband had bought the shirt … the favour came and I could return the shirt without any more ado …
We did a few other things and then popped into JB HiFi hoping to find the much elusive “Sound of Music” DVD. We found a copy and while paying the kids talked about chicken schnitzel and the song “My favourite Things” from the movie. The guy behind the counter had a bandage on his wrist said that it was from oil spilt while cooking Chicken Schnitzel and he would not cook it ever again … he had burnt it so badly that he had required an ambulance trip for the burn.
I finished the transaction, let him serve someone else and then offered to pray, telling the story of a girl in Lorne that had been healed of a similar burn after prayer where the pain had lifted instantly. As I offered, a girl also serving at the counter dressed in a strong gothic look rolled her eyes and snorted, he, also decked out in gothic, very quickly said “no”. Now, I had felt God wanted me to offer to pray, but he was not receptive. I shrugged it off and smiled saying “you may think I am mad, but it is my job to offer, your job to decide … I have seen someone healed of a nasty burn, and it would be wrong of me to not offer …”. I left, feeling small, laughed at, smited, embarrassed and knocked about.
As I walked away a young girl at the counter called out to me and said “that was really nice of you by the way, to offer like that, that was really kind …” I looked back and smiled (still smarting) and said “thankyou, I have to offer because I have seen people healed of that sort of thing, but it is not up to me to force it on anyone … my job is to offer, his job is to accept or not …” With that I left the store … feeling really knocked about, but reminding myself that the result and outcome are not my business … my business was to offer, especially when God wanted me to, and it was up to them to decide … they always have free will …
We then popped upstairs and bought a promised doughnut for the kids. The girl behind the counter was absolutely beautiful … she was in looks, but also in herself and I knew I again needed to offer to pray. I was a bit “over it” by now, but offered anyway … still reeling from the rejection and the laughing. I offered and said “give me your hand” telling her how beautiful she was, and what a gorgeous girl she was inside and out. I blessed her, called favour upon her, declared open doors and prosperity and I told her employer that they needed to keep her (she was on trial) … she really was gorgeous through and through …
There were no more assignments on our trip that night. It took some time to shake off the feeling from the JB HiFi encounter … I kept reminding myself that it was just part of his journey, just part of the girl’s journey. I was shocked at the girl in David Jones in how her father had died recently and how God had me pray for what she had so obviously missed out on in her relationship with her father in the natural … I thought of how kind the young girl encourager was to stand up for me before her fellow employees to say ‘well done and thank you,” regardless of their obvious disdain … and I was a bit embarrassed but grateful that an small act of kindness had opened the way for me to get one more job done, without my husband having to make the trip back up there himself and waste more time in doing so.
I hazard a guess that each encounter planted a seeds hearts … I hazard a guess the young man had a seed planted about the power of God to heal, I felt he was into more than just a gothic look, especially given his very quick response, but I cannot be sure. I hazard a guess that a father’s heart was about to be released into the life of the girl from David Jones; I hazard a guess that all of the encounters that night were a part of each persons journey, and a part of mine, a part of theirs … for regardless of whether they laughed at me, or encouraged me, nothing will alter the indisputable fact that …
God is Good!
Links:
http://godisgoodstories.com/2011/05/26/a-future-declared-%e2%80%a6-saturday-21st-may-2011/