The God Of All Comfort

A beautiful place that Gary, Jeffrey and I vacationed more than once was up in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.  There’s a huge lake up there called Lake Okanagan, and to me it was so peaceful just to sit and look over the water and marvel at the splendid beauty that God created.

So that summer, after I’d finally submerged from the muck and mire of my own mind (Oh No – Where Did My Faith Go?), the 3 of us headed up there to refresh ourselves and relax.  Vacations are times when I tend to really “dig-in” with the Lord.  I spend a lot of time reading and praying, and usually take a whole bag of different books to read!

So it was one day when I was sitting outside our rented condo on a park bench meditating on our lives since giving birth to our boys.  A part of me was in mourning for little Jeffrey – how we longed for him to be able to walk, talk and play like an average child.  However I knew we needed to keep our eyes on our God as He has plans for us all.

I had brought with me to the park bench that day the late Bill Bright’s book “Witnessing Without Fear,” and it really started to speak to my heart.  In the book Bill gave a testimony about how, at the start of his walk with Jesus, his Bible teacher told the class that when they got home they all needed to seek God’s face and ask Him:  Who are You, Lord, and what would You have me do?

So as I was sitting there in the sunshine looking over the beautiful lake, I asked those same questions of my Lord.  Almost immediately I sense His reply:  Bring people to Me.

It was an incredible experience, but at the same time I started wondering how He wanted me to do that.  I knew that God gives us all gifts according to His will to prepare us for works of service (see Ephesians 4:11-13), but quite frankly I didn’t feel that He had yet imparted to me the gift of evangelism.  And, didn’t you need that gift in order to bring people to Jesus?  I was a little confused, but was certain that was what He had told me He wanted me to do.

I look back and chuckle now, but I guess my feeling at that time was that “evangelism” meant I needed to go knocking door-to-door telling people about my faith and asking them to pray The Sinner’s Prayer!

But the Lord in His graciousness and love gave me a glimpse of what He meant later that same day.  Housekeeping was in our room cleaning it up, and Gary and I had stepped outside and were on the deck waiting for the young women to finish.  All of a sudden one of the gals opened the door and asked where I had gotten that same book (“Witnessing Without Fear”) that I had left sitting on the coffee table, because she really was interested in reading it!

To make a long story short, I ended up leaving the book for her at the front desk once I had finished it, along with a note telling her that Jesus loved her, and I hoped she enjoyed reading the book.  I also left her a little pamphlet explaining how she could make Jesus her Lord and Savior, and left my contact information saying I’d love to keep in touch with her.

No, unfortunately I never heard back from her, but I know in my heart that the Lord had me there for just such a time.  And to this day, whenever I stay overnight in a hotel room – or even on an airplane – I always make sure I have some sort of biblical literature to leave for whoever comes in after me.

You just never know when or how God will speak to you – but be ready!