As the sun rises for the day, I take off the mom hat and put on my nurse hat. 0650 comes and I’m walking to start my day. The days at work always start the same-praying from my car as I walk to the building. Praying for my family, praying for my coworkers, praying for the staff and the patients. Praying to be a vessel, use me God.

Continuing the “Who’s Next?” blog, I don’t blog about every encounter, but some touch my heart and I just want to share. So on today’s “Who’s next?” question to the Holy Spirit, I was led to a man.

I looked in his eyes and could feel the pain he bears. I knew at that moment, he was the next. So, I simply and quietly asked him, “Do you know Jesus?” He smirked and said “I used to believe but not anymore.” My heart sank as he began opening up and telling me how he felt about God. I don’t remember word for word but here are some themes or things he said-

-to many horrible things have happened in his life for him to believe there’s a God up there. “I just believe there’s a devil, I never see any good”, “I believe we live before and we reincarnate” (then he described that process, I sat quietly and let him explain), “I think the world is flat and I do agree when God said there’s a firmament.” He asked about other religions and what about their gods. he had a lot of questions! many not listed here.

When I asked him if he believed God sent his son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross? He responded by, “no, I don’t think Jesus has come yet.” I told him how hundreds of people claim to have seen Jesus after he defeated death, he responded by saying “well we can all say we see something, I wasn’t there.”

He’d ask a question, I’d smile and qive him my response, like when I told him flat out to his question about other gods that they don’t exist and they are false. There is no other God but God. He smiled and kept the questions coming. I also hit him with “what if you’re wrong?” I did that in response to him holding his middle finger up to the ceiling and cursing God. I felt that called for a blunt response. “What if you’re wrong? You’re flipping God off and saying he’s not real, what if you believe in these false gods and you die and you’re wrong? If you die, even as a perfect person, but you deny Jesus, that’s eternity in hell.” That made him tear up. and we kept talking. He mentioned that how could any God love him, he’s to far gone he’d say. “Who could love me, I’m a low drug addict, I’m nothing.” I told him that my heart broke for him. I told him how Jesus loves him. Jesus is there for him. I told him to lean on God through every struggle and we talked about 41 days. How there’s many times in the Bible that people struggled for 40 days or even 40 years and then day 41 comes and God moves. I told him to keep pushing, keep believing until that day 41 gets here. I felt him begin to let down his walls, open his heart a little bit. So I kept going.

I shared bits of my life and how my dad had struggled with addiction too, how I witnessed his addiction and how painful it was; always waiting for the phone call that he was gone. I shared that I lost my favorite aunt to a drug overdose and we were all raised to know God. I shared that my dad had passed away, but not from drugs, from a blood clot in his lung. I shared how I don’t know how I would breathe without God giving me strength every day. I shared that addiction is a chain put on from Satan himself around your ankle holding you down. He shared how disappointed his family is in him and he started crying. I told him how they are just worried and that they love him. I told him that God loves him and sees his pain, sees the burdens and struggles he has. I told him to call God’s name, lean on him. Many times during our conversation, he’d just smile at me and thank me for simply talking to him, seeing him. I smiled and said “You’re stuck with me for 12 hours, so you’re going to hear about Jesus” He laughed.

I asked him if I could pray with him, he turned towards me and said yes. I asked to hold his hands. We held hands, as two imperfect people from two very different walks of life, and I just started praying. I prayed for God to touch his heart, give him a fresh revelation of who He is, I rebuked addiction on his life and asked the Holy Spirit to speak to him the next time he felt like using and give him the strength to say not this time, I prayed for the presence of the Lord to fill the room we were in, let him feel your presence, I prayed for his family to support him, love him, give gracy and mercy like we are freely given from God, so many things I prayed for. but the thing that amazed me while I was praying with him is this: he would squeeze my hands and rub with his thumb and say out loud, “Yes Lord”, over and over as I prayed. Coming into agreement with what I was praying out loud over his life. A man that was just flipping off God, cursing him, now saying innocently, “Yes Lord”.

God met us right there.

I could go on and on about this encounter but I’ll leave with this:

say yes to God. Let Him use you. Let Him amaze you by showing up every single time. I’m in such awe of HIm.

“Yes Lord”. What does your yes Lord mean today? Are you literally saying “yes” to what he commands you to do? Are you saying yes by agreeing with his word? Are you saying yes by sharing your faith and stepping out of your comfort zone? Are you saying yes by buying a stranger a meal? Are you saying yes by reaching out to a family member or friend and asking how they are and sharing that God loves them? Every day, have a yes moment.

Thank you Lord for the boldness you’ve given me. Thank you Lord for showing up in the room again and listening to our prayers. Thank you for my patient and his life, thank you for softening his heart. You meet us right where we are and I’m so grateful for your mercy and love. God, whoever is reading this today, meet them right where they are. Encourage and empower them to say yes today. Whether that is a big yes or a baby step. Let them feel your love and your peace. All glory and honor to you, amen.

xoxo,

Kiersten

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTZVUPhbvvc&list=RDcej4vn4sWtE&index=2

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