I think that, depending on where you have been, you may judge what is coming by what has just passed. Last week as I waited for my daughter, I found myself in a conversation with a woman who was sitting near me. It started out very generically, but soon we were talking about the past year and what we should expect for 2019. My impression was that this woman felt like she had just scraped by in 2018 without mishap by the skin of her teeth, and that she was bracing herself for doing the same in this new year.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit will orchestrate things in a way that you know He is at work, and I know He was at work in our conversation. I am a very respectful person when it comes to other’s privacy, and I do not like to probe unless I am invited to do so. But, when I know that the Holy Spirit is involved then I will not shut it down. What became obvious to me was that I was to give this woman a testimony of the goodness of God. As we spoke I knew that the Spirit was showing me an element of fear concerning her husband and his health, and so this was the perfect inlet for me to speak of our recent circumstances.
Often, when you are relating what has occurred in your life, people want the assurance that all worked out well. They want to know that the things that could have gone wrong, actually turned out better than expected. When I told this woman of my husband’s recent heart attack that resulted in by-pass surgery, she was genuinely grieved for me. This is when the witness of the Holy Spirit came out to powerfully show her that what was meant for bad, was in fact good. Good because God is good all the time. She saw this woman before her, a stranger, telling her that God was good and is good. This woman did not see worry or concern, she saw victory, and I believe that it was only part of the message that God wanted to deliver to her that day.
The Holy Spirit had a message for this woman, but it became clear that there was a message for her husband as well. When he joined her it was to relate his need for eye surgery, but even before he came out from his eye exam I had given his wife the name of our amazing Christian eye doctor, a man who God had used to help Jack many times. So, she already had the name of a doctor when her husband expressed his need, and she was able to offer it immediately. The Holy Spirit did not show me that her husband had an issue, just that I was to give the name of our doctor.
I know that I was sitting waiting for my daughter, but I had an assignment as well. To say I was blessed personally was absolutely true. There is nothing better than being used by God, for He is a good good Father and good things are coming for us all. We need only believe!
Romans 15:13 NKJV Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.