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Are you ready? I mean really ready? I think all of us would like to think we are. I think if you call yourself a Christian, you want to believe that in a moment of crisis, when the absolute worst possible thing happens, you will know how to act or what to say. So many of us have been a part of church for a long time. We have attended plenty of Bible studies, read countless blogs and attended enough Sunday sermons that we think we have a handle on all of this. I know I would have told you I was ready. And then it happened.
I was in a very public place with my sweet young daughter when tragedy occurred. Moments in, it was obvious nothing and no one could help but God. I remember so clearly looking around and thinking, “Why is no one moving? Why is no one praying?” I grabbed my daughter’s hand, made someone call 911, and with my daughter began to literally cry out to God, knowing He is the only one who saves. My head was telling me I must look like a lunatic, and I likely did, but the Holy Spirit pushed me forward.
I sat shaking as the ambulance left, and I looked around at all the people. What now? What now, when I know the truth? I know God, in His sovereignty, may choose to end a life. I know He can save, but that does not mean He will, or that somehow only in the saving He is good.
The Bible tells us to be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). I don’t know that I was prepared, but I was willing to go where God would lead. I held broken souls as they wept. I told them the truth. I told them God can redeem and restore ALL things. We may not see it or understand it here on earth amidst the shattered pieces of life, but He does.
It is with certainty I can tell you God moved that day and not me. I spoke to the police after, and one officer in particular asked why I was there. Why did I get involved? I said, “The Holy Spirit told me to,” and then sat in silence, awaiting some sort of shock or laughter. But what I found was grace. What I gathered from all of this is people need Jesus, and the gospel is magnetic. In the midst of chaos people want the light that is in you because of salvation, and it is an extreme honor to have God use you to share it.
Most of my friends, especially my dear ones, know Jesus. And that is not a bad thing in and of itself. But I forgot. I forgot there are neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances and even complete strangers who need Jesus, sometimes in the smallest ways and sometimes in the midst of tragedy. People need Jesus. Always.
We who proclaim Jesus as our Savior have the privilege to share this hope with the world. My challenge to you is to do just that. Store God’s Word in your heart. Ask Him for the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Don’t be afraid. God will show up. He will use you, so be ready.