A God Moment
It was the late ’90s and I was stationed near San Antonio, Texas, in the Air Force. I was on duty but needed to run to the post office off base during my lunch break. As I was driving, I noticed a young man, probably in his mid-20s, walking in the direction I was going. It was starting to rain, so I pulled over and offered him a ride, which he reluctantly accepted.
I introduced myself and he hesitantly shook my extended hand but continued to stare straight ahead. As we continued to drive, it became apparent he was crying. I asked if everything was OK, to which he replied, “Definitely not.” I told him I was sorry to hear that.
I felt led to go a little deeper and said, “You know, this is probably gonna sound really weird, but sometimes God allows some pretty rough stuff to happen to us to get our attention.” For the first time, he turned and looked at me. The best I can recall, I went on to say something like, “I’m probably gonna sound like a religious whacko to you, but God has changed my life, and He wants to do the same for you.”
The young man told me he had just been fired from his civilian job at the base chow hall. He went on to share that his truck’s engine was blown, his girlfriend was pregnant, and he was not doing well in life at all. He allowed me to stop at a parking lot where we could talk a bit more. After listening for a while, I got my pocket Bible and simply shared the gospel with him. I asked him if he wanted to have his sins forgiven and a new life in Christ.
In one of those rare moments in life, he looked at me through tears and said, “Yes.” We prayed together and he asked Christ to save him. Afterward, he looked at me and shared one of the most astounding things I’ve ever heard. He said, “Just last night, for the first time in my life, I got out of bed, got down on my knees, and said ‘God, if you are real, please send someone to tell me about you!’ and today He sent you to me.”
I don’t have words to adequately describe that moment. Awed? Staggered? Humbled? Blown away? Speechless? None of these quite capture it.
God says in His Word that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. What an absolute honor beyond description when the Holy Spirit moves through us to lead a person to Christ. I look forward to one day worshiping “the Lamb seated on the throne” with that young man. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go find a tissue…
– Eric Hentnik
