There we were in the airplane. Grounded in Seattle for 45 minutes while we were waiting for the okay from the mechanic to take off. It was some sort of leak, nothing to be concerned about. So in my heart I'm thinking Okay Lord, "I'm supposed to be at the ladies retreat to speak. I mean, poor Marguerite, what will she do if she has to fill my spot on such short notice?" As you can see, I was very spiritual and "others" centered....
Anyway, as Ramona and I were sitting there talking, a man sat next to me. We were cordial and said our hellos, but for the most part, we kept to ourselves. Immediately I got the sense that he was not sitting next to me by chance. Later, Ramona said she knew something was up as well . Anyway, the three of us began to talk a little bit more. He had a very prominent job and lived in a "high class" area, just outside of Long Beach. I was feeling a bit intimidated as he is very tall and I am very short, and you know how those seats in coach are so close together! I felt he was constantly looking down at me and just inches from my face. Actually, that is exactly how it was!.... Finally, "clear for take off"!
"Bill" begain telling us that he wasn't supposed to be on our flight, he worked real hard to get his ticket changed because he didn't want to get stuck in the storm that was heading for Seattle. He was so happy to make it on our flight! Lights flashed in my head and for the second time, I realized God had something in mind.
Now, you have to picture this, I'm this tiny girl in comparison to him, I have no credentials to speak of and I do not live in a house on the hill. Did I mention that he is a writer and currently working on a screen play for his book? "Well, I'm a wanna be writer and I'm on my way to speak at a women's conference." okay, so I didn't say this to him, but it was definitely on my mind! He shared some more details with Ramona and I about his book, we laughed and joked. All the while, my heart is beating faster and I know what God is asking me to do. So, being the smooth girl that I am, I pulled out my "script" for the conference and began reading it, not knowing whether I should hold it up or lay it down so he can see it. I decided to lay it down because I knew that he was looking, so why not make it easier for him?
He began to ask me little questions and gave me tips on how to speak and use my notes effectively.( What a bonus God gave me). As time went on, I relaxed and I felt the Lord take over. I pulled out my Bible to go over some of the Scriptures. "Wow, that's a well worn Bible", "It's my life", I replied. I told him that God is everything to me and I can't imagine not having my Bible. My thought's and prayers are in it! "I can see that", he said.
He was silent a moment and then proceeded to tell me about his childhood. "I'm Anglican by default and Religious Science by practice". What?? (This is where the old loud mouth, say what's on her mind, Teresa resurrected herself.) "How do you go from Anglican to Religious Science? That doesn't make any sense?" Quickly, the Lord brought me back and softened my voice and changed the attitude of my heart. He told us how he was raised to believe in God and did the "whole holy communion thing" but had problems with it when he got older. "It made sense to me to go where every truth is explored". I was quiet for a moment, then asked him how he reconciled all these so called truth's because they all contradict eachother. He told me that he liked to focus on the god within. I looked up at him and said "Do you know that the "god" within will deceive you?" "You need to be focusing on the Creator God, the God you were taught to believe in". According to Bill he knew all about "that" God. "Knowing
about God and knowing God are two different things."
As I yielded to the Spirit, I got a little bolder. I turned to John 14:6, he read, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one gets to the Father but by Me". When he was finished, I asked him if he thought Jesus is a liar or who He says He is. He didn't answer me, but asked me about another place in the Bible where he remembered it saying that He was the only God. I immediately flipped to Isaiah 45. I pointed to verses 21-24. He read it, and again I asked him if he thought God was a liar.
You must know that there is absolutely no tension between us at all. We were smiling and laughing this whole time. It was great! God was so there! I got serious for a moment and I looked up at him, just inches away from his face and I told him that God wanted his heart. God did not care what he was taught to believe as much as He cared about him believing what he was taught and that God is the reason he was on the plane.
Ramona asked him why he turned away and he looked down and said "sometimes people just do that". I couldn't contain myself too much longer! I blurted out "God wants you back, he is calling you to a right relationship with Him!" He just looked at me. I can only imagine what he was thinking: "Why in the heck did I get on this plane!" I know that's what I would have been thinking. This was awesome, but the hardest thing for me to do was yet to come.
Just two nights before this, I was teaching through 1 John 4. As I turned the page, it ripped completely out of my Bible. I was so sad. It's not good for me to have an incomplete Bible, what if I needed to turn to that page again?! Sigh. I tucked it in carefully, hoping it would not fall out.
As I was sitting there thinking about Bill, God was telling me to give him that page of my Bible. I'm thinking "well maybe, but I'll just keep talking..(Isn't it funny how we always think we know better than God). I kept playing with this page for what seemed like hours, reading my thoughts I had scribbled down the side of the page. I must have told Bill a thousand times that God was calling him back, but I was not about to let go of this page of my Bible. But God would not let me off the hook. I finally held the page up in the air. At the exact same time, Bill and I said "I think that page fell out for a reason". "Yes", I said, "that reason is you". He laughed and said "Oh no, that's not what I meant." I looked up at him again and told him that God wanted him to have it. I folded it up and handed it to him. ( Interesting how this page just happened to be talking about false gods and testing all spirits.) By this time, we are heading down the run way. We made it safe and sound thanks to our fine mechanics back in Seattle. We said our goodbye's and Ramona told him that we hoped to see him again, "yes" I said, "in the air."
You might be asking, what is the point of this story? I'm glad you asked. There are two, actually. The first and most important is that God is a jealous God and because His is a perfect and holy jealousy, He will pursue those whom He has called. We cannot hide from Him, as I mentioned in another article, we can't hide in the shower, and apparently, not on an airplane either.
Have you left your first love? Have you allowed the things of this world to pull you away from the true and living God? Turn back. God loves you and He will do whatever it takes to draw you back. Don't wait until you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation.
My second point is this: We make our appointments, but we need to remember, God makes His as well and we need to be ready and willing to do what He is calling us to do, especially when it involves a sacrifice on our part. You see, when I gave Bill a piece of my Bible, I gave him a piece of my heart. Isn't that what being Jesus to others is all about?
I don't know what Bill is thinking today, but I do know that God gave Ramona and I the privilege of being a part of something big. And He wants to give you that same privilege. You know, I never even considered the people around us. We both were speaking quite loud. Maybe God did something bigger than I will ever know!
"Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your GOD which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your GOD has forbidden you. For the LORD your GOD is a consuming fire, a jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:23-24 May the Lord bless you as you seek to know Him and serve Him in a deeper way.
