Have you ever wondered how the timing of some things seem to work out perfectly? Like that moment when you’re in a rush and someone is backing out of a front row parking spot in a crowded lot…or when you run into the exact person you needed to meet to accomplish a goal…or when you just so happen to get all green lights going from one place to another during normal rush hour traffic? Okay maybe the last one was a bit of a stretch but there is this incredible sense of awesomeness when things do work out and seem to be timed perfectly.
I had the opportunity to do an outreach with the young adult ministry at my church a few months ago. Every now and then, we do an outreach where we go out into the community and pass out free gas cards and share the love of Christ 🙂 I had participated in a couple of these outreaches at other times in the past and it was a very eye-opening experience. God revealed a lot to me through ministering to others but this particular time during the gas card outreach, God spoke to me and reminded me of His awesomeness and of who He is in a way that I will never forget.
This particular day of doing the gas card outreach was beyond AMAZING!!! We gathered at the church to meet up with our small group and received the location of the gas stations where we planned to pass away free gas cards. Once everyone arrived, we bought a lot of gas cards (it’s pretty cool how much can be done when we put all of our resources together). After purchasing the gas cards, we prayed as a group and then went out to start gifting people with free gas cards and sharing the love of Christ. But before this awesomeness even started we experienced a road block and was told that we could not pass out the free gas cards. It was considered soliciting there. At first I was like, “We’re not soliciting!” Then I realized that we were soliciting Jesus 🙂 In the midst of this situation, the Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus was also rejected. We weren’t experiencing anything that He hadn’t already experienced. “What’s the next move?…What are we going to do with all these gas cards?…Couldn’t they have told us this before we made our purchase?” These are some of the thoughts that went racing through my mind. Despite our little road block we were determined to keep going and find another location to bless people.
Our next stop was at another gas station not too far from the first one. We pulled into the parking lot and saw that it was already full because another small group from our church was there. Looking around, we noticed other establishments near this gas station so we ventured out a little in hopes of blessing someone. I went with a group of about five people from my small group to a nearby restaurant. After we entered and explained what we were doing, we gave all of the staff gas cards, told them of God’s love for them, and prayed together. Before we left though, I noticed a man sitting by himself in the corner so I went over to give him a free gas card and tell Him of God’s love for him. He literally asked about five times, “What do I owe you?” After repeating that it was free he just said, “I don’t understand, but Thank You!” When I think of God’s love for us I don’t understand it either honestly! It’s mind-blowing but I Thank You Lord! This reminded me of how we can’t repay Christ for the sacrifice He made for us. It’s a gift!
Now this part is AMAZING!!! So our small group still had more free gas cards to give away so we visited one last store that night. When we shared our experience amongst our small group at the end of the night, a few people mentioned how they went inside the last store looking for people to bless but other people from our small group kept approaching the people they were about to approach. Eventually, they saw this family with two little kids and approached them. After talking for a while, they discovered that the family had literally just prayed for gas money and BOOM! Prayer answered! God’s timing is perfect!! This reminded me that rejection can be a setup for a better blessing…for God’s best! Rejection can be redirection! When one door closes another opens! Rejection from another person, school, job, or whatever could be a setup for something even better! The rejection we received at the first location was a setup for the divine appointment of blessing the family at the last store. God placed us exactly where we needed to be so that He could use us. Although we initially didn’t understand everything that was going on when we experienced our first little setback, looking at the night overall, all the pieces fit together perfectly like a puzzle. Everything literally does work together for our good (Romans 8:28)! Be encouraged! God’s timing is perfect!! 🙂
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