Unexpected Encouragment

Yesterday afternoon I had what you might call a "divine appointment" with the contractor who was picking up our old cable equipment.  I had been waiting around the house all day for the equipment to be picked up and was starting to think my usual cynical thoughts about how unreliable this particular company was.  I was surprised when around 3:30pm a man pulled up in front of my house in an old un-marked truck with a very loud engine, got out and started walking toward my front door.  Turns out it was, in fact, the equipment retriever.  He went about his business checking to make sure I was returning the same equipment that was given to me, filling out paperwork, and having me sign.  As he was gathering everything to head out the door he asked me, "And ma'am, may I ask you a direct question?"  I said, "Sure," thinking this was where I was going to have to give my spiel about why we were choosing to discontinue this service, etc.  He asked me while looking directly in my face, "Do you know your Creator?"  Rather taken aback, I paused and said, "Yes, yes I do!"  He then said, "So you know the Lord Jesus Christ?" I reassured him that I did in fact know Jesus and believe in Him as Lord.  He responded by telling me to "seek Him like never before" and to never stop praying and asking for His guidance and He will be there.  His name was Sonil.

I asked him how he came to know the Lord, and he told me the story of how a man from Israel came to his country, India, and shared Christ with him.  He gave his life to the Lord at that time, although he fell away from following Christ during his teen years.  He came to America when he was 20 looking for opportunity, but as he was flying into JFK he said he just heard the Lord telling him that none of "this" (meaning the wealth and opportunity available to him in America) would satisfy him like he was hoping.  He was living in an apartment in NYC with 8 other people and working at a fast food restaurant when one night he got on his knees and prayed, "Lord, I don't want to obey you and serve you.  I don't believe you.  If you are real and if you love me, You are going to have to show me."  And as he said, "the rest is history."  He told me of how just a couple of years ago he had lost everything and didn't have a penny to his name.  He was broken and unable to help himself, in his own words.  The Lord provided a man from Auburn, AL who called him and offered to let him come live in a trailer that he would provide, gave him the truck he was driving, and some money to get him started.  Sonil took the trailer and the truck, but he said he hasn't used the money because he knows he won't need it...God will meet his needs.  He told me to never doubt that God would be there, because God has done things for him in his life that "cannot be explained by a human."  He knows He is real and that He loves him.  He told me, "Jesus Christ died for my sin and took my punishment upon himself.  I cannot fathom why He would do that...for ME," as she shook his head in disbelief. 

As he was getting ready to leave, he asked me to pray with him.  He prayed for me, my husband, our children (he didn't know we only have John), and our home...that it would be protected from Evil and a place where Christ is exalted.  He asked me to pray for him, and I did.  In my prayer I thanked God for Sonil's courage to share his faith while on his job, even though it is risky, among other things.  When I was finished, Sonil looked me square in the face and said with a huge smile on his face, "Sister Duski, there is no risk for me. What can happen to me that the Lord cannot take care of?"  I told him he just amazed me because I would be afraid of losing my job and not being able to provide for my family....to which he replied, "Remember sister, you are not the one who provides for your family.  God is," as he continued smiling with confidence and pointing to heaven.  He reminded me that God has not promised I will not suffer while following Him, but He has promised that He will take care of me.  He told me of a customer just the other day who said to him, "Your job is not to ask me these questions.  Your job is to pick up my equipment and leave.  You could lose your job for this."  He said he replied to her, "No ma'am, my first job is to make sure you know that Jesus is Lord.  This is just my second job that the Lord has provided to meet my needs.  I don't care very much about losing it, but I do care whether or not you know the Lord."  She didn't have a response for him.

As Sonil left, I told him how refreshing it was to talk with him, and how much his faith had encouraged me.  I can honestly say I have never met a stranger who felt so much like family.  I felt the Body of Christ.  There was no doubt that he was my brother.  The joy, peace, and confidence that were in his words, facial expressions, and posture were undeniable, and I simply cannot do it justice with words.  He left my home leaving me with a hunger for the faith that he had...the kind of faith that was sure of God's existence, love, and provision, and ultimately was sure of Heaven...all things that I struggle so hard to truly believe.  I know that I cannot "bootstrap" my way into having the faith that God has given to Sonil, but oh, today I desire it.  And even as I say that, I fear what God would allow in my life to grant me such faith.