A Chance Meeting, or More Than That?

   I sit back this morning and consider the events of yesterday, and how they seem to relate to the Scripture that I read right now. I also confess that I did spend some time looking at another Scripture on Wednesday, but just came up dry when it came time to write. Now I do not like to be shut out like that and have to say that it seemed that God did not speak or lead me in any of that. Perhaps it was because I was not ready to listen.

 
   We have a regular elders meeting every second and fourth Wednesday morning. Yesterday, our family pastor was in attendance and he spoke of a man in the church who had approached him with a desire to minister to a certain segment of the congregation. I knew this man and had been impressed by his willingness to serve, and so I volunteered to make the contact, on behalf of the elders, to get his heart on this.

   After I returned home, and after unsuccessfully being able to feel any nudge by the Spirit on what to write, I just went out to play golf, walking nine holes while Mayre went to get her hair fixed. Sometimes exercise has a way of clearing my mind, and I don't mind the golf either. So, as I played, I came up behind two men. As I was playing somewhat faster than they were, they waited for me on a tee box, beckoning me to play through. As I approached them, I realized that I knew one of the men, and that it was the very person that I had agreed to contact. Never before, in all the years I have played this course, had I ever run into him. Was it a sign that this contact on a new ministry was supposed to be? I take it that way as I think about it now, but was it more than just that?

   Then this morning, as I sit and think about the Fatherhood of God, and as I wonder how all that is supposed to feel in my life, I am reminded of what He showed me yesterday. He cared enough about me, and he cared enough about the heart of my friend, to put us together for a few brief minutes, so that we might begin a process, one that could bring ministry to some forgotten people in our church.

   What will be the outcome of this man's desire to serve? God only knows that, but I know that He showed me today that He was still active in my life, and this reassurance is just what I needed this morning.

   So, as I think of all this, I read this verse in Psalm 50:

   "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;"

   And I am thankful.