The Text That Came In The Afternoon

The text came in the afternoon.
I recognized the name right away.
It is someone I know from my local grocery store.
I have not seen her in a while.

She is a single mom.
She works at the grocery store; the last I heard, she was put on night shift.
She works while her children are asleep, which means she is probably exhausted.
I am proud of her and have told her so; she works very hard for her children.

Life has not been easy for her.
Years ago, she moved away.
In my heart, I did not think the move was wise but I never said anything to her.
She came back again, since things did not work out like she expected.

Thankfully, she got her old job back.
I tried to remind her of the blessings.
We always ended up talking about the Lord.
I always tried to encourage her to get into a good church.

It was the church recommendations that led us to share our phone numbers.
She would text me every once in a while just to say she was thinking about me.
I would always answer right away.
We would go back and forth a few times.

When she moved away a few years ago, I bought her a bible.
I told her that I wanted her to read it.
I told her that I wanted her to read it to her children.
She promised me that she would.

It was not that I needed a promise.
This had nothing to do with me.
This had everything to do with her needing to know God.
This single mom needed Him, like we all do.

I looked at my phone that afternoon and saw her text.
I clicked on it to read it.
My heart was so moved by what I read.
I was so grateful to God.

Good afternoon, Mrs. Gina. Just reaching out to see if you can give me something to read in the Bible??? Plz

I asked God for wisdom.
Right away, a passage came to mind.
After a few lines telling her that I miss seeing her, I sent her the passage to read.
I told her to read Psalm 139.

Read Psalm 139 to know how very special you are, how uniquely you are made by God, and how much He loves you and watches over you.

She responded right away.

I miss you. I just happened to grab the Bible you got for me!!!

She went on to say that she found a few dollars that were stuck in the pages of the Bible.
She wondered if the verses on that page might be something she is supposed to read.
She saw some connection between finding the few dollars and the verse on the page.
She wanted to know what I thought.

She is so young in her faith.
Sometimes, if truth be told, her faith is shaky.
Sometimes, if truth be told, our own faith is shaky.
We have to lean on the Lord when we answer questions about His Word.

I prayed for wisdom again.

All verses are important and speak God’s truth to us. I think reading about how God loves you, how He will never leave you or forsake you is so important.

She answered immediately.

Okay!!! Got it!!! I just wanted to make sure.

I marveled at God.
A Bible that was given to a single mom, who moved, and moved again, is still with her.
The Bible is being read.
She may need some help as to how to get started, but the desire is there.

It is a privilege to come alongside another person and help them understand God’s Word.
We may think that looks a certain way, but I assure you, it doesn’t.
God works uniquely in each of our hearts.
Our questions, as we try to understand His Word, are unique to each of us as well.

I am so grateful to God for the tender way He instructed me.
I am so glad that His leading was gentle and informative.
What if someone put her down, or told her that she was incredibly off base?
The results would have been disastrous.

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.  The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8:26-35)

Beginning with that very passage of Scripture.
It is so important to meet the other person right where they are.
If God is working in their heart, they will not stay there for long.
If God is working in their heart, they will mature in their faith and understanding of His Word.

What a privilege it was to receive that text in the afternoon.
Thank the Lord when you are available to answer someone’s question.
Thank the Lord when He gives you the wisdom you need to answer them.
Thank the Lord for those God-ordained opportunities He gives to us.

Pray for the willingness to be used by God for the other person’s good and for His glory.