Obeying when It’s Odd
I walked past a woman in the hospital today. I was moving on to the next place I had to be. She was pacing a small circle in the hall, looking thoughtful. I said excuse me, turned the corner and heard the Holy Spirit.
“Wait,” God said. “Two weeks ago, didn’t you preach about the Good Samaritan? Didn’t you talk about talking time to care? Didn’t you use an example from this very hospital about walking past a family that needed care? Go back and offer to help.”
My first instinct, maybe like yours, was to blow this off. “I take things too seriously,” I thought. The woman didn’t really look in distress. If she had been weeping I would have stopped. After all, if I stop and offer help to every person I walk past, how will I get anything done?
By this time, I had walked through another door, but the Holy Spirit was still speaking to me. The message that was hammering my heart was “Go back.” I am ashamed to say that I actually asked myself, “Can I live with the guilt if I just go on?” In that moment, I knew I could, but I decided I didn’t want to. I turned around.
I went back, approached the woman, and said, “Excuse me, do you need any help?” She looked surprised.
“No,” she said. “I am waiting for the Bootmans to come out and see how Grandma Bootman is doing. She isn’t doing well and I wanted an update.”
Okay, now I feel odd. I was sure there was a crisis I was supposed to respond to. But apparently, there was a woman in a hall, just waiting. I told her I hoped Grandma Bootman would be better, and I turned away.
I admit I was halfway waiting for her to cry out, “Wait! I’ve seen you TV! On the commercial! My family is imperfect! Tell me how to find Jesus!” But the only sound was the gentle swish of the closing door.
“What was that all about?” I prayed.
God whispered back, “You will never know all of what it was about. But at least a part of it is about you obeying me when it feels odd. Think of it as practice.”
God will ask you to do some things that feel odd. Do them. Maybe it’s a practice opportunity. Maybe you are the messenger God intends for just that moment. Who knows?
Faith is obeying even when it feels odd.
