Guest Devotional - Melissa Walker

I walked out of a store with my bags in hand and ready to hurry to my next errand – after all it was the one morning each month that I run errands by myself while my husband takes our boys for the three of them to get their hair cuts.

There was a man riding past me on a bicycle, with bags in tow. It was obvious that he was a homeless man, but if he was not on his simple transportation with bags, then he would not have had the same look to him as he appeared clean, meek and put together. My gut was to give him a candy bar that I had just bought, but I talked myself out of it thinking that a candy bar was an odd thing to hand him at 10:30 in the morning and just didn’t seem sufficient….after all how nutritious was that???

I needed to circle through the bank drive through that was located next door, so with no cash in my wallet, I circled through the bank with the intent to give him $10 for his lunch. My plan seemed simple…..circle around the parking lot and hand the man $10, and tell him that God told me to give it to him. After leaving the bank, I circled through and even though the parking lot was surrounded by a busy intersection, the man was not there. How could he have left so fast? Where did he go???

Thoughts began to flood my head……I know that God impressed upon my heart……it wasn’t about the $10, it wasn’t about the candy bar…it was about someone acknowledging that the man existed and giving him a smile…it was about me possibly being the only person that said hello to him all day….all week…..

How often do I go with the plan in my head that seems right and makes sense….???

How often do I miss the plan that God has and gives me in my heart….???

God’s plan does not have to make sense to me, but I have to know that God knows the other person and his needs. As I drive past that parking lot, I will continue to look for that man, with a candy bar and $10 tucked away in my wallet for him, but most importantly open to what God tells me in my heart. This is a lesson way beyond how to reach out to a homeless man…..what do we do when our heart and gut feeling does not make sense to us???

“God what are you trying to say to me?”

When we fail to listen to God, we miss His very best.

Collosians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

And in Proverbs 4:10-13 we read, "Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold onto instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.”

When we choose to listen to God and accept his instruction... the outcome is life-changing.