Jesus said, ‘I have not come to do my own will but the will of my Father who sent me’
As Jesus passed through towns and villages stopping for the many and for the one, we see Jesus living this out. As he engaged with lost people proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom he only ever did what the Father showed him, and the book of Acts is full of stories of the disciples doing the same. Stories such as Philip meeting with the Ethiopian and Peter and John healing the lame man at the temple and Paul meeting Lydia by the river.
Every day we are ‘passing through somewhere’ as we travel to work, meet with parents at the school gate, or our neighbours. As we have our hair cut, do our shopping, work out in the gym or walk the dog.
Every day we are ‘being sent’ by the Father and we can be expectant for the Holy Spirit to draw our attention to people around us where the Father is working.
As Lisa Mason beautifully expressed in a recent discipleship newsletter therawdisciple.com “We believe Jesus has gone ahead of us and is already working in the lives of those around us. Our prayer is simple: “Jesus, show us what you’re doing and who you’re drawing to you. Help us play our part in building your Kingdom, making disciples, and showing your love to the lost. Here we are, ready to do your will.”
Jesus stopping for the woman at the well is such a familiar story but has so much to teach us about going out of our way, going the extra mile, crossing cultures, loving unconditionally, listening to the person and to the Father and a whole town coming out to meet Jesus through one woman’s story of an encounter with Jesus.
Practically speaking…Jesus might bring someone to you. They might be sitting next to you on a bench or in a café or at a bus stop and just start talking to you, telling you a problem or engaging with you. These are often moments of invitation set up by our Father for us to show his love and to share his heart with them.
Sometimes you will feel the Holy Spirit drawing you to someone. Often for me it feels like a prompt or a nudge which I could easily follow or ignore. It always requires courage and having to step through the awkward but when I have followed it has usually led to something wonderful on the other side.
When I step out of my house, I practice asking the Holy Spirit to make me more aware of the people around me and if there is someone, he is leading me to. This way I am far more attentive
One time I went for a walk in my local park and having just prayed and asked the Father to show me someone, I saw a young woman walking slowly with a stick and wondered if she was that person. She spoke very little English but through sign language I learned that she had a problem with her ankle and left foot. When I offered to pray for her and she accepted, I bent down and prayed a simple prayer declaring Gods love for her, commanding the pain to leave and releasing healing to her ankle and foot. As I looked up, she was beaming and in broken English said “Better, better!!”and then threw her arms around me. This was during Lockdown by the way, when we weren’t encouraged to hug anyone and so I knew she had received a miracle from Jesus. I told her Jesus loved her and she went on her way walking normally.
Stopping for the one will not always be convenient. We can often be busy with our own agendas, in a hurry to get somewhere or just tired. In the same story of the Samaritan woman when the disciples returned and were astonished that Jesus was not only speaking to a woman but wasn’t hungry for his lunch, he told them “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” This provokes me that learning to live expectantly and obediently means living available and allowing God to interrupt my day.
One time I was in a café waiting for a hair appointment when a lady began talking to me out of the blue. She said “Peace at last, this is the only day I have to myself. I’m caring for my mother who has dementia, my mother-in-law has just died, and I’ve just come from bereavement counselling.”
I recognised how the Holy Spirit was getting my attention and leaning in I invited her to come and sit with me and for the next two hours she opened up her life to me. When I talked with her about Jesus, she became very emotional and remembered a time where Jesus had drawn near.
That day I missed my hair appointment, but I had the privilege of praying with her and introducing her to Jesus. I’m not encouraging missing appointments, but when we’re intentional about being out in the harvest; our primary mission, we discover the exciting adventure of following where Jesus leads us
How are you doing at walking this out in your everyday life with Jesus?
If you want to hear more stories to encourage you on this journey, I have written a book called, Go: Everyday Stories of Stopping to Love: I also help lead an online course called ‘Equipping for the Harvest’ link
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
Expecting More 