“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6……………..
4 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:4………..
I was in a rush. A big one. I was going to a prayer meeting. Of pastors and ministry leaders praying for New York City. Oh, I was so excited. Just two weeks freshly moved into the city, and, oh, wow, what an opportunity to connect with fellow people sold out to Jesus praying in unity for the city. I decided to walk, despite the long distance, to save a bit of money. No subway, I would do the walk and somehow arrive on time. I was already running late when I saw him. The blind man with the walking stick – headed in a slight diagonal, not quite headed straight down the sidewalk, not headed perpendicular directly into the road and major traffic where his life would be terribly at risk. But just enough of an angle that if he continued much further, yes, he would arrive right in the thick of the zillions of cars doing their slow New York City rush as if that’s possible down a major city avenue. Even as slow as traffic was going, with that many cars, and just enough frenetic chaotic lane changing and impatience, the man’s life would clearly be in peril.
I was in a rush, yes. And I’ve long since learned to seek the Lord for direction. The world is full of people in need of help, and I have a heart for all of them. But He has taught me to seek Him about who genuinely needs help, and to whom He wants to send me, being that He has countless other people He can call on to use to help also. This time, the Spirit of God made it abundantly clear what I needed to do.
“Would you like help?” I asked the blind man.
His answer was immediate. He stuck his hand in my hand, said yes, and in response to my question about where he was headed, we took off in the direction of his destination, the library where he could read books in Braille, the special books for blind people. The library was in the WRONG direction according to my plans. I was headed in the OPPOSITE direction. But see, God had a plan. And He has taught me to submit to HIS PLANS in HIS TIME for HIS GLORY no matter which direction I am headed.
Within minutes, our hands firmly gripped together, walking together the blocks to the library in the “WRONG” direction, the blind man began to talk to me about the Lord Jesus Christ, about the Bible, about sin and repentance, and said this to me.
“You are an angel. God sent you to me to help me,” he told me simply and thankfully.
God gets the glory, of course. Not me. Not the man. God had arranged it.
By the time we had reached the library, the man had asked for my Gospel tract so someone could read it to him, said he would be in touch, and PRAYED FOR ME right as we walked down the street and even once we had stopped in front of the library.
The blind man who had been headed for the road didn’t end up in the road, by God’s grace alone. He ended up at the library. I didn’t end up getting to the prayer meeting on time. I was late. But both of us did exactly what God had intended. He had brought together a brother and sister in the Lord to speak to the hearts of both of us, to encourage both of us, to help both of us, to show both of us His love for us, and our agape love for one another in Christ, and to remind us both, and you reading this, that all those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ are part of Christ’s body, and all of us are intended to function as one. In unity. In Christ. For Christ. Not living according to our own plans and ways going in our own direction, but going in His direction, going the way of Christ, living according to God’s plans and ways, for God’s glory, together, hand in hand, our hands in the hands of the Lord, our hands in one another’s, together, heading down the road that is the way of Christ who is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, the ONLY way to a forever relationship with God, and the very best and most beautiful way to live on this earth, and forever, in God’s presence, for God’s most holy magnificent wondrous splendid eternal glory! Amen!