Tuesday, October 24, 2006
When you've got a God like ours, even a parade can turn out to be a place for Him to amaze you. What I'm about to tell you is not Uncle Ronnie's Story Time. It's really a story about a God that you may really need right now. I was scheduled to speak at a Native camp in Canada this past summer, and our hosts wanted me to bring a few of the Native young people that God used so mightily on our reservation teams all summer. They'd been so excited about being spiritual rescuers that they asked me if there was a reservation near the camp. They wanted to continue the outreach of the summer. There was a reservation, but we knew no one there who could help us. My wife and I got to the area a couple days early, and we decided to take in a parade in the nearby town. We prayed about God directing us where to sit. Basically, we just wanted a shady spot. Our neighbors in the spot we chose turned out to be a Native family.
As my wife struck up a conversation with the Native lady sitting next to her, the lady wanted to know what we did. As my wife described our summer with a Native team, the woman put her hand over her heart in amazement and she said, "Are you On Eagles' Wings?" Now it was our turn to be flabbergasted. It turned out that Rochelle, this precious Native woman, was from that nearby reservation. Two years ago, she lost her son to suicide there. Not knowing where to go for hope or for help, she went to the Internet, and she happened to end up at our Native website, oewonline.com. She said that's where she found the help she needed to make it through. Since then, she's been saving all the On Eagles' Wings Summer of Hope reports and all the transcripts of this radio program - never thinking that she'd ever have any personal contact. As the parade went by, Rochelle and my wife sat, hands clasped together, praying. Rochelle proceeded to get a place on her reservation for our team members to do two afternoon outreaches later that week, and two-thirds of the reservation young people who attended gave their hearts to Christ. One of them was Rochelle's surviving son. Exactly one week after we sat down next to a woman in a town we've never been in, just to watch a parade.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living a Globally-Positioned Life."
What God did for us at that parade turned out to be a vivid example of what He's doing day after day for every child in His family. He's globally positioning us through everyday circumstances. He's positioning us to be the right person at the right place at the right time to carry out His awesome plans, if we'll live our life looking for His divine match-ups and listening for His gentle direction.
When Samuel told Saul God had picked him to be the first king of Israel, Saul thought it was a mistake. Samuel told Saul that as he headed home, he would first meet men who would have a message from his father, then men with goats, bread and wine; and finally, a parade of prophets who would prophesy about God's anointing on him. 1 Samuel 10:9, our word for today from the Word of God says, "God changed Saul's heart and all these signs were fulfilled that day." A God-planned itinerary, leading Saul right into the middle of God's will. Now that's what He's wanting to do for you, every new day.
My challenge to you is to wake up each morning, expecting a God-planned day; expecting divine match-ups and divine intervention. If you are submitting to the inner leading of His Spirit and His Word, He'll continually be positioning you to meet the people you need, people who need you, to confirm what He wants you to do, to open doors, to start a chain of amazing events, to answer prayer. There just isn't any more exciting way to live. So, don't settle for less. Pray through your day. Look for the tapestry of God in your day. Obey those Spirit-nudges in your heart. You'll continually find yourself in the middle of something God is doing.