We are building a pool.
It's been a long process and we're nearing the end. The first day that I met with our building
contractor, as we sat on the couch and talked about pool construction, out of the blue God burdened my heart to ask him if he went to church. I argued with God in my mind as the
contractor explained the pool process-- half of my mind wrestling and arguing with God and the
other half trying to pay attention to the contractor. I wrestled with God because I didn't know
this man and I was afraid he would be offended if I just blurted out "Hey,
you go to church?" That's kind of a
weird, random question to ask your pool contractor you just met.
About four minutes later, God won the argument, so I
said, "Are you a church goin' man?"
He blinked a couple times, and looked at me like I just told him I liked to eat dog hair. I could tell he was trying to regain his composure from what must have seemed like a bizarrely random question in the middle of explaining the pool construction process. But then he said yes, that sometimes he went to a certain church in the town he lives,
but that he hadn't been in a while. And just to maintain the awkwardness, 'cuz, you know, if I'm anything, I'm awkward, I
said, "Well, you look like a church goin' man." He doesn't look like a church goin' man. Then
we resumed talking about the pool construction process. That was almost four weeks ago and we've
spoken off and on since then, but we've only discussed our pool construction.
Today he was supposed to be here at 1 p.m. for us to add
extra concrete to our patio design. I
didn't hear from him until 6:30 p.m.
Earlier in the afternoon I felt a little irritated when he didn't show
up. I wasn't angry, but I pointed some
irritated thoughts in his direction....wherever he was. When he finally got here, he was flustered
and quickly trying to calculate concrete square footage. As we talked about the concrete, he made a
few comments about the stress of his job.
I told him I couldn't imagine the burden of dealing with homeowners and
subcontractors and all the problems in-between, day in and day out. As he talked, God told me to ask him if I
could pray for him. Despite the awkwardness of our first encounter when I asked him about church, I didn't wrestle
with God this time. As my contractor was
gathering his equipment to leave, I asked him if I could pray for him. He hesitated a moment and said,
"Yes."
So, I stood there in our half-constructed patio,
surrounded by two-by-fours, broken rocks, spray painted lines and goose
droppings and took this man's hand. A
man I barely know. A man that does not
look like a church goin' man. A man that
builds pools and deals with subcontractors who accidentally cut cable lines and
electric lines when they dig a pool. A
man that deals with homeowners who call him every hour of the day and
night. A man who was precious to God and
needed prayer. When I finished praying, this
grown man was weeping behind his dark sunglasses as he stood there with a spray
paint can in his hand.
He wept because he is a human being who is hurting.
He wept because God told me to pray with Him and I
obeyed, so God touched his heart at just the right time.
He wept for other reasons that only he and God know.
God touches lives through our obedience. And although sometimes what He asks us to do
may seem uncomfortable or weirdly random, He has a plan. Today I stood in my yard and poured out my
heart in prayer for this man, but four weeks ago I didn't even want to ask him
if he went to church. But four weeks
ago, God knew about today-- the day this man was going to need prayer. The day that God would remind him that he is
treasured and loved. The day that God
would speak to him through someone else.
So today, I encourage you to be obedient to God. I encourage you to remember that every soul
is a precious treasure to God. I
encourage you to reach out to those who are hurting. Our world is full of broken, hurting people
that God wants to speak to through you.
He wants to tell them that they are treasured and loved.
"Carry one another's burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the Law of Christ." (Gal 6:2)
"And the prayer offered in faith will restore the
one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be
forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each
other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous man has great power to prevail." (James 5:15,16)
"Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of
prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your
prayers for all the saints." (Eph 6:18)
