God's Timing is Hilarious Sometimes

March 13th of this year, I was walking down the sidewalk thinking and praying about who I'd meet. I was thinking how sometimes I cut across a parking lot; or turn down this street instead of that - that the people I witness to are in some way determined by the route that I take. I think, ‘What if I would have gone another way instead, I would have NEVER met that person.’ Someone will duck into a store or a car right before I reach them, and I think, ‘It must not be their day.’ Or I'll meet someone and have a great conversation with them and think, ‘I would have totally missed talking with that person if I hadn't also attempted to talk to those other three people who turned me down’. So many times, it's so obvious, that I had little to do with it. Proverbs 16:9 says “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”

As I was having these thoughts, I saw a woman out in the distance (75 yards away) walking toward an apartment building. I thought to myself as I saw her approaching the door, ‘See, like her, it must not be her day to hear the Gospel.’ As I continued to walk and pray, I scoped the street to see if others were out - they were not. ‘Who will you bring across my path today’. By this time I'd traveled the 75 yards only to come upon the woman still fumbling with her keys trying to get into the building. "Excuse me, can I give you one of these..."

I had a great conversation with Marsha, a precious Catholic woman, who gave me an unsolicited hug at the end of our conversation. She heard a full Gospel message - in God's timing.

God has a sense of humor. Just six weeks later I was at the exact same spot in the sidewalk and I thought of Marsha. Today it was a man coming to a cross walk out in the distance. 'There's no way I'll get to the corner in time to talk to him without looking like I'm chasing this guy down. It must not be his day to hear the Gospel.’ Just then, as if on cue, a gust of wind blew this guy’s hat off and he trotted several paces to grab it out of the gutter. Then he dropped a piece of paper that the wind caught- delaying him a bit. He finally walked back toward the crosswalk; had to wait a few seconds for the light to change; then as he stepped off the curb, had to wait another few seconds for a car to pass by. By that time my stride caught up with him. As I watched all this taking place, I thought to myself, ‘You couldn't write a script any better than this.’ "Excuse me sir, can I give you one of these...".

John was a very pleasant guy who was admittedly "making provision for sin". He needed to hear of the forgiveness that God offers freely to those who repent of their sin and put their trust in Him. He heard it - in God's timing.

There are folks all around us that need to hear the Gospel. And God is going to great lengths to order our steps (and the steps of others) so that our paths will cross. Have you opened your mouth to speak for the Lord lately? Equip yourself to know what to say and to effectively share the Gospel with others. You’ll be amazed how often you’re in the right place, and at the right time - God’s timing.