God Said Wait

God Said WaitTrust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths…Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 7:7One of the very best things about serving the Lord in His Compassion ministry are the opportunities for fellowship; specifically the exchanges that occur while serving behind a Compassion sign-up table. I had one such encounter the other night.The table traffic was sluggish when *Judy strolled up. I could tell almost immediately that Judy was one of Ocean Grove’s ‘challenged’ inhabitants. I cannot relate precisely her affliction, but to suffice it to say the more we conversed, the more evident it became she struggled with something cerebral.“I want to sponsor a child, ” she began, “how much does it cost?” I explained to her the ministry and how for about one dollar-a-day a sponsorship provides educational opportunities, food, healthcare, and of course, the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.Judy listened, interrupted often, and eventually explained how she could not sponsor a child at this time due to her financial situation. Then, the conversation began again.Groundhog DayReminiscent of the classic Bill Murray movie, Judy started again, “I want to sponsor a child, ” and then actually upped the ante by declaring she wanted to sponsor two, or maybe three children.Judy now finished every sentence with a probing question to me, “What should I do?” and regardless of what I suggested, her response to me was always the same, “what should I do?”Frustrated But in LoveHave you ever been there? Anyway, “Judy, ” I said, “are you saved?”“Yes, ” she said with a huge smile on her face!“Awesome, ” I said, “we need to bring God in on this one. Will you pray and ask God to tell you what you should do?”I then asked if she was here to listen to Duffy Robbins (the evening’s speaker). She said she was. I told her to go in and find a seat, listen to Duffy’s message and to ask God to give her the answer she desperately needed. She said she would and she walked away to find a seat.Did I Believe?Did I believe God would respond to Judy? Did I believe Judy would reach-out for God in prayer? Well all I can tell you is that this was my hope and prayer. Thirty minutes later Judy made her return.“God Said Wait!”“What!” I said, “God spoke to you?”“Yes, ” she told me excitedly, “God said wait!”“Well praise be to God Judy, ” I replied.To which she responded, “So what should I do?”I laughed. She laughed. We laughed together“I have an idea, ” she said, “I’ll have my cable TV turned off and use that money to sponsor these three children, ” pointing to three child packets on the table.“Judy, ” I said sternly, but lovingly, “God said wait.”“But…”“Judy, we should not disobey God.”The irony is that usually these conversations are the other way around; God is leading someone to sponsor a child and they are looking for every excuse not to obey—in an extreme contrast, Judy desires to be disobedient to God in order that she might save the lives of three children.Judy agreed that listening to God was most important, but not before jotting down the names of the three children she hoped to sponsor one day. I saw Judy later that night sitting alone in the park. She called out to remind me, “I have the names written down, I have the names written down!”And Jesus has your name written down too Judy.Will You Sponsor a Child?Compassion dave PS. Please visit the official Compassion Blog(*Not her real name)